Finding Love
by Elphiex13
Summary: Astrid Burby is a cousin of the Weasley's, she grew up with Hermione, and is best friends with Neville Longbottom and the Golden Trio...but when her world is falling apart, she discovers that love is the one thing she will always have. Neville/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a brand new story, though the idea has been lurking in the back of my mind for a while now. This story I would guess is more movie based, at least on character appearance, but also has some book basis. Unfortunately there will have to be some slight inconsistencies with time and such to help tell my story, but nothing major so don't worry too much. I really hope you enjoy this! Please review if you would like, but don't be too mean, I am new at this!

"Oh Astrid I'm so excited!" Hermione exclaimed as she stopped her cart right in front of the barrier between platforms nine and ten. I stopped next to her and smiled brightly, nodding my head at her.

"Me too," I replied to her, "I'm so glad we get to do this together."

"You two girls ready?" My father asked as he walked up with Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Hermione and I nodded our heads vigorously. "Alright, you know what to do…you best go through at a bit of a run since it's your first time. You two go first and we'll follow, alright?"

Without even bothering to answer, I broke into a jog and headed straight for the barrier wall that appeared completely solid to all the muggles around us. I didn't need to look back to know that Hermione was right behind me with her own cart. I was at a pretty good speed when I shut my eyes out of reflex and a little bit of nervousness. The next thing I knew, I heard a loud train whistle blow which caused me to open my eyes and I saw that I was standing right in front of the Hogwarts Express; the glorious train was more magnificent than I could ever have imagined. A mere moment later I felt Hermione stand right next to me and heard her gasp as she first saw the train as well.

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" I asked her, smiling from ear to ear.

"I've never seen anything like it! I've seen pictures in Hogwarts, A History; but nothing can prepare you for actually seeing it."

"I completely agree with you Hermione." Just then my father and the Grangers came through the barrier where Hermione's parents had a very similar reaction. My father looked at the muggle couple and grinned at them before looking down at me and Hermione.

"Trust me girls, it'll never get old. Every time you step through here…even now all the memories come flooding back and it's just as spectacular as it was when I was your age." He walked up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders before motioning to the train, "Come on then, let's find you a nice compartment."

We all made our way to the train and found an empty compartment in the middle of the train. My father and Mr. Granger got me and Hermione's trunks loaded into the compartment and I set down Mynx, my long haired tabby, on one of the seats where he curled up. Once Hermione and I had everything settled, we each said goodbye to our parents.

"I'm going to miss you darling." My father said as he bent down to hug me.

"I'm really going to miss you too dad…I just wish mum could be here, and Lucille too."

"They are sweetie; they're always with you, right in here." He got onto his knees and pointed at my heart before continuing. "Your mother would be so proud of you Astrid. I know that right now, she and you sister are both looking down from Heaven with smiles on their faces. They'll always be there to protect you." He kissed my forehead and stood back up. "I love you Astrid, you be safe alright?"

"I will dad." Just then the whistle blew again and my dad looked down at his watch to see it was a minute to eleven. He ushered the Grangers out and they stood by our open window where Hermione and I leaned outside. "I'll send Max to find you tonight so you can write and let me know which house you've been sorted into!" My father called as the train began moving out of the station. Hermione and I waved goodbye to our parents and platform nine and three-quarters as we made our way to our new home away from home.

XOXOXOX

The Hogwarts express had just left the station when we heard someone knock on our compartment door. We both looked over to see a boy about our age who had dark brown hair, a round face and rather large teeth.

"Do you mind if I could join you?" The boy asked nervously, "All of the other compartments are full."

"Go ahead, we don't mind." I said to the boy; with some difficulty he managed to get his trunk into the compartment before sitting down in an empty seat next to Hermione.

"My name's Neville Longbottom by the way."

"I'm Hermione Granger and that's Astrid Burby." Hermione introduced us to the both with great pride as usual.

"It's nice to meet you Neville." I smiled at the boy. "You know Hermione, I haven't seen my cousins yet…would you mind if I went to look for them?"

"Go ahead, I'll talk with Neville."

I stood up and smiled at the both of them before heading out the compartment and down the train. I first went to the front, glancing in each compartment and I found Fred and George in one that was fairly close to the front.

"Hi Astrid!" Fred and George called out in unison as I waved to them; I had always liked the twins, they were like my protective older brothers and always looked out for me. However, at the moment I knew they were with their friends and I was really looking for Ron, so I smiled once more before heading towards the back of the train. When I passed my compartment I saw that it was empty, I shrugged my shoulders before continuing on and managing to bump into someone.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was-" I cut my sentence off when I looked up into rather cold grey eyes. The boy was rather pale, had white blond hair that was neatly slicked back and was several inches taller than myself. He had an obvious look that screamed bad boy, yet I didn't feel threatened by him at all.

"It's alright…?" He ended it as a question, obviously wanting to know my name.

"Astrid." I told him quickly.

"I'm Draco." He smiled at me before he motioned to his two buddies, that I hadn't even noticed until now, to follow him. "I'll see you around Astrid." I watched him walk towards the front a few feet before slipping into a compartment that was just past mine. What a strange boy… I turned around and made my way back to the end of the train and finally found Ron's fiery red head in one of the last compartments. I opened the door and smiled at my cousin, just as I was about to open my mouth to say hello, he interrupted me as he likes to do so often.

"Astrid, look who I've just met! It's Harry Potter!" My eyes must have grown to the size of saucers as I stared at the rather scrawny boy with messy dark hair and a pair of broken wire-rimmed glasses. I had seen pictures of his parents since ours had been such close friends, and Harry was a miniature version of his father, yet I could tell he had his mother's vivid green eyes.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you Astrid." Harry said as he nodded and smiled at me.

"It's nice to meet you as well Harry, I'm Ron's cousin by the way." I said as I sat down across from the two boys. They had clearly just had a visit from the snack trolley because the compartment was filled with all sorts of goodies, and a lot of them had already been eaten.

"Care for a chocolate frog?"

"Yes please." I took the box from Harry and opened the package, I let the frog hop around on my lap while I looked at my card, "I've got Merlin! He's my favorite." I put the card in my jeans pocket and ate the chocolate frog that was now still since the magic had worn off.

"Hey Astrid, what house do you think you'll be in?" Harry asked nervously.

"Well my father comes from a strong Ravenclaw family but my mother comes from a Gryffindor family, so either one is fine with me…although I prefer Gryffindor since I have family there now."

"Oh…" Harry looked kind of down now, I guess since I was pretty sure on which house I would be put in.

"Hey, you know our parents were great friends." I said, hoping to cheer him up. "They were in Gryffindor with my mum, so maybe you'll be in Gryffindor also." This seemed to work as Harry looked at me and smiled from ear to ear.

"Really? What else do you know about them?"

"Only what my father has told me. Our mums were best friends all through school." Harry seemed satisfied with this answer for now and sat back in his seat grinning. We sat there in silence until I heard a squeaking noise come from Ron's lap; it was his pet rat, Scabbers.

"Oh…you brought Scabbers?" I asked Ron with a hint of disapproval. I had always disliked rats for obvious reasons, but I absolutely hated Scabbers.

"Yeah…Since Percy's a Prefect, he got a new owl and I got Scabbers." Ron seemed a bit disappointed as well. "But Fred told me a spell that would turn him yellow! You wanna see?" Both me and Harry nodded, though Harry was much more excited than I; knowing Fred, it was a dud spell…but might as well let Ron have his fun. Ron cleared his throat, lifted his secondhand wand and was just about to say the spell when Hermione leaned into the open compartment door.

"Has anyone seen- oh, hi Astrid!" I waved her to come inside, "Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his." We all shook our heads simultaneously. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then." Ron cleared his throat yet again and began his spell.

"_Sunshine, Daises, Butter mello. Turn this stupid fat rat yellow._" Not surprisingly, nothing happened.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" Hermione said shifting in her seat she had taken next to me. "Well, it's not very good is it? I've only tried a few simple spells, but they've all worked for me." She looked over at Harry, "May I?" Hermione motioned to Harry's taped together glasses. Once Harry nodded, Hermione pulled her wand out from her new Hogwarts robes. "_Oculus Reparo!_" Just like that the tape on Harry's glasses vanished with a small puff of smoke; Harry took off the glasses and upon inspection discovered that the glasses were complete fixed, like brand new. Hermione sat back in her seat smiling and we all sat there in an awkward silence until I decided to break the ice.

"Harry, Ron, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Harry Potter and my cousin Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter, really?" Hermione was very excited to hear this. "I've read all about you, you're in several wizarding history books I've read so far."

"Really?" Harry seemed very surprised at this.

"Of course, you're very famous, why wouldn't you be?"

"Erm…right." Harry sounded like he was trying to convince himself still.

"Astrid, the train is almost at Hogwarts and you still need to change, let's head back to our compartment." I nodded and we both said goodbye to Harry and Ron before heading out of their compartment and back into our own. Neville had yet to return to the compartment so I used this time to grab my new Hogwarts robes and put them on, securely fastening the buttons. Once I finished I sat down and Mynx jumped up, curling into my lap.

"Can you believe we just met Harry Potter?" Hermione was so excited that the wizarding world was slowly becoming more and more real to her by the minute.

"I know, and he was so nice also." I replied while petting Mynx who was purring contently. "You know, my parents and Harry's were great friends. Our mum's were best friends and my mum was actually his godmother." We sat there a while longer talking excitedly about our futures at Hogwarts and all the new spells we would learn.

"_Attention all students, we will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave all luggage and animals on the train as they will be transported to the castle separately. Thank you."_ Once the booming voice on the train had finished Neville walked into our compartment looking rather downtrodden.

"Did you find your toad, Neville?" I asked the poor boy.

"No…I've lost Trevor. Gran's going to kill me."

"It's okay Neville, you'll find him, I promise." We all settled into the compartment and Neville put on his robes over his jumper and pants. Just then we all felt the train slow down and then eventually stop completely. All three of us stood and walked into the very crowded hallway where all the other students were trying to exit the train. It took us a few minutes but we eventually made it off the train and we immediately heard a loud voice telling all first years to head in its direction. Upon reaching the source of the voice, I discovered it was a very tall man with wild hair and an even wilder beard. The man had to be well over eight feet high and easily towered over all the first years. Despite being such a large and overbearing man, he had a wonderful warmth about him and seemed very nice. It turns out he had Neville's toad, which he was quick to return to the very happy Neville. Next, all the first years clambered into small boats that lined the dark lake in front of Hogwarts Castle. Hermione and I reunited with Harry and Ron and decided to share a boat together. The entire boat ride was completely silent because everyone was in awe of our new school.

Once the boats reached the shore by the castle, we all climbed out and onto the rocks and pebbles that lead to a walkway we took straight up into the castle itself. Once inside we were stopped on a marble staircase by a tall witch who told us how we would be sorted into our houses in a few moments.

"I'm so excited Hermione, I can hardly believe it!" I whispered into Hermione's ear, we were standing at the top of the stairs in the very front of the group. Hermione reached down and grabbed my hand, giving it an excited squeeze.

"Me too, Astrid, I can't believe it's actually happening…" Her voice trailed off dreamily as she looked around the front entrance. A few moments later the witch, Professor McGonagall, returned and ushered us into the Great Hall. The four long tables were full of returning students who all clapped when we walked inside. In front was another long table where all the professors sat, including Albus Dumbledore who sat in the middle. Just a few feet inside, I felt Hermione yank lightly on my hand. "Look!" She was pointing at the ceiling; I couldn't help but gasp out loud. It looked like there was no ceiling at all and we were seeing the beautiful night sky that sat above hundreds of floating candles. "I read in Hogwarts, A History that the ceiling's been bewitched to always look like the actual sky!"

"Fantastic!" Hermione and I quickly made our way with the rest of our class to the front of the hall where there was a stool that held a rather old and dingy looking hat. All of the sudden the hat began to sing some sort of song about the different houses and what they're known for…it was pretty wicked but also a little creepy. Once it had finished its song, McGonagall walked up next to the hat with a long piece of parchment in her hands.

"When I call your name, you will come up and sit; I will place the Sorting Hat on your Head and it will then choose which house is best for you." McGonagall all gave us a moment to comprehend before continuing. "Now, let's begin….Abbott, Hannah." Hermione and I waited patiently as students were sorted before us. "Boot, Terry…RAVENCLAW!" A loud applause was heard from the Ravenclaw table. "Bulstrode, Millicent…SLYTHERIN!" Then finally it was my turn; "Burby, Astrid…" I quickly, yet nervously made my way up the few stairs and sat on the stool, the hat was placed on my head and I suddenly head a voice in my ear.

"Ahhh…Burby is it? You've got the brains of your father and would do excellent in Ravenclaw…yes…but, you're just as brave as your mother who was a Gryffindor…hmm, very curious, it seems you're not who you think you are. What to do with you? Either way you will have greatness as well as sorrow…well, best put you in…GRYFFINDOR!" I grinned from ear to ear and shot up from the stool as soon as the hat was taken off my head by McGonagall. I ran over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to my cousins who were whooping loudly and pumping their fists in the air. The sorting continued and eventually Hermione, Ron, and Harry all were in Gryffindor also. I was so happy that Hermione and I would be in the same house together; I had actually been rather scared that if we were put in separate houses we would drift apart. Luckily I had no reason to worry anymore.

Once the sorting was complete, Dumbledore made his start of the year speech and welcomed all the students; when he finished talking, all the empty goblets and platters were instantly filled with drink and food. I immediately grabbed the pumpkin juice and poured myself and Hermione some, I had been telling her about how delicious it was and couldn't wait for her to try some. We all filled our plates and mine had an array of foods that included roast chicken, potatoes, peas, gravy and bacon. The meal was delicious and once we finished, deserts appeared. I was rather full, but managed to help myself to some peppermint humbugs and a bit of treacle tart. When everyone was stuffed to the brink, all the food vanished and we all stood to follow Percy the Prefect to our new dormitories.

"What an amazing day!" I exclaimed as I plopped down onto my bed where Mynx was already cuddled up.

"I know, I'm so happy I'm in Gryffindor and not Slytherin!" Called out a girl with frizzy blonde hair whose name was Lavender Brown. I sighed and zoned out a little while the other girls in the room began to chatter about the day's events. I then heard a tapping noise at the window and got up to see it was Max, our family owl. I opened the window and pet Max before sitting at my desk to write my father the letter I promised to send him.

_Dear daddy,_

_ I can't believe I'm actually at Hogwarts! You were right daddy, it really is amazing. I've been sorted into Gryffindor, as well as Hermione, although the sorting hat almost placed me in Ravenclaw. I'm happy I'm in Gryffindor because this means me and Hermione get to share a room and also I'll get to see Ron, Fred, George and Percy much more. Oh, and I met Harry Potter today on the train! He was also sorted into Gryffindor and he seems really nice. I hope you can get along without me and don't get too bored._

_ Lots of Love,_

_ Astrid._

I attached the note onto Max's leg and he flew out into the night. All the girls had changed into their pajamas and I decided I probably should as well. I went through my trunk and grabbed a pair of sweats and a Weird Sisters tank top before heading off the our bathroom. The bathroom had two shower stalls, three toilet stalls and two sinks. I went into a toilet stall for more privacy and changed clothes. Once I had brushed my hair and teeth, I headed back into the room, snuggled into my canopy bed, said goodnight to the other girls and quickly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So here's the second installment, as you'll be able to tell, its quite a few years later. Please review so I can see how you guys feel about it! Thanks, and enjoy!

"Now, you need to think of a happy memory, the happiest you've ever been." Harry Potter instructed the room full of Hogwarts students. "Focus on it and say the incantation."

"Expecto Patronum!" Ginny cast the spell and a silvery light in the shape of a hare burst out of her wand and bounded around the room.

"Excellent Ginny, really excellent!" Harry congratulated the redhead before continuing to walk around the room making sure everyone was getting the hang of the spell he was teaching Dumbledore's Army today. Poor Astrid was having a little difficulty producing a strong enough Patronus, and Harry took notice. "Here Astrid, what's your memory?"

"Getting my letter from Hogwarts…" They both knew it wasn't a strong enough memory. "But I suppose I do have a stronger one…" Astrid remembered the night of the Yule Ball during the past year at Hogwarts. Astrid had gone with Dean Thomas, a handsome boy she'd had a crush on since her second year at Hogwarts, however, what made that night so enjoyable was when she had switched dates with Ginny for one song. Astrid danced with her best friend Neville; it wasn't anything romantic in the least, simply two best friends dancing together to the Weird Sisters. "Expecto Patronum!" With a giant burst of dazzling white energy, Astrid's Patronus burst from her wand. Astrid's Patronus was in the form of a cheetah; Astrid immediately beamed at the form her Patronus had taken…her mother had been an animagus and would turn into a cheetah. As Astrid watched the cheetah run around the room playfully, she instantly felt a deep connection, as if she were in the presence of her mother.

"Well done Astrid, it's beautiful." Hermione said to her best friend as she gave her a knowing glance from the cheetah to the redheaded girl standing next to her. "Your mother would be proud." Hermione lowered her voice so only Astrid and Harry could hear.

"Thanks." Astrid had first found out about her mother being an animagus when Sirius Black had told her when he escaped from Azkaban. Sirius and Astrid's mother had been dear friends and had even dated during the majority of their years at Hogwarts; though Astrid went onto be with David Burby.

"Well, I believe we've done enough for today…I don't want to wear you all out too much." The group laughed, but in all honesty looked relieved to be ending today's trying lesson. "I'll see you all at our next lesson then." With Harry's final word, the group began to file out in small groups so as not to draw attention from Umbridge or her new Inquisitorial Squad. Eventually all that was left was Neville, Harry and Astrid. Harry and Astrid were just finishing a discussion about the Patronus Charm when they noticed Neville standing in front of the bulletin board of photos the D.A. had put up. There was a wide array of photos, all of family and friends; including Cedric Diggory, but Neville was looking at the largest photo that was in the center of the board. It was a photo of the Order of the Phoenix from the first Wizarding War. Astrid's parents were in the photo and smiled at Astrid as she and Harry made their way to stand on either side of Neville.

"My parents were aurors, you know?" Of all the years Astrid had known Neville, he had never spoken about his parents before. "During the first war, a death eater named Bellatrix Lestrange" Astrid felt her stomach drop as he said the name. "…used the Cruciatus curse on them to get information, but they never gave up. I'm real proud of them. I'm not quite ready for people to know yet though."

"We understand. You'll make them proud Neville, I know it." Harry spoke to the tall boy. "I'll see you two later, alright?" Harry smiled at the two and patted Neville on the back before heading out the door, leaving Astrid and Neville alone, both staring at the photo in silence. Eventually Astrid built up the courage to break that silence.

"My parents were in the Order, they're right there…next to your mum and dad." Astrid pointed to her parents. "...I've never told anyone this, not even Hermione."

"You don't have to tell me, you know?"

"I know." Astrid said sitting down on a two-seater cushion that had appeared below the collage of photos. "But I want to." Astrid patted the spot next to her and Neville sat down. "I had a twin sister…"

"What happened to her?"

"She was killed when we were just over a year old." Astrid paused momentarily before she continued. "My mum was best friends with Lily. You-Know-Who and his followers didn't yet know about the Fidelius Charm, so they searched for the closest friends of Lily and James Potter. My parents knew they were being hunted down and decided to pose as a muggle family until they could find their own Secret-Keeper for a Fidelius Charm. Once afternoon, my mother was at home alone with my sister. Some Death Eaters, includign the Lestrange's, found our home; they killed my sister and took my mother captive." Astrid paused to wipe away the tears that started to form. "My mother was tortured with the Cruciatus curse, and when she didn't give in…they...they raped her. They tortured my mother for months until she lost the will to live." Silent tears were slowly making their way down her face. "Neville…I must make my mother proud, I can't let her die in vain."

"And you won't Astrid…" Neville said as he put his arm around Astrid's shoulder and pulled her into his chest. "I know you well enough Astrid…you will make us all proud. I swear it." Astrid looked up at Neville before smiling and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you Neville, you really are my best friend." Astrid said as she rested her head once again on his chest, just missing the vivid red blush spread across the poor boys face.

XOXOXOXOX

"Now…you've all been horrid students and will be punished for your defiance." Umbridge spoke in her unnaturally chipper voice. "You knew that extracurricular activities were disbanded and prohibited on campus…and now you must pay for your insolence." The toad faced woman waved her wand and quills appeared on each of the desks that the students sat at. Astrid immediately recognized the quill as the same one both she and Harry were forced to use during previous detentions. "Now, you all must write the following line repeatedly until detention is over. You may begin." With another wave of her wand, a sentence formed in the air above the chair where she now perched.

_I must follow the rules._

Astrid must have written this sentence well over several hundred times; her hand was aching horribly and was covered in blood…her own blood. All throughout the hall you could hear the quiet groans from the older students and the sniffling from the younger, crying students who could barely take the pain.

"Hem hem…" Umbridge caught the attention of the large group students after two and a half hours of torture. "That's all for today, I'll see you all here tomorrow; same time." The students all stood gingerly, Astrid's bottom was numb from sitting in such an uncomfortable wooden chair for so long, yet nothing could compare to the aching pain shooting through her throbbing hand. Astrid and the rest of the students shuffled out of the room, attempting to comfort each other. Poor Nigel Wespurt's hand looked particularly bad, and he was having some difficulty keeping back his tears as he sniffled. Astrid saw the boy she looked at as a little brother whom she had taken under her wing during the lessons with Dumbledore's Army.

"It's alright Nigel…" Astrid put her arm around Nigel's should to comfort him some. "That old hag will get what's coming to her, I promise. No one does such horrible things without karma finding them one day." Nigel smiled up at Astrid before they separated, Nigel following his friends to go up to their room, while Astrid joined Hermione, Ron, Harry and Neville in the common room.

"Honestly, how could anyone be so evil to children…it's barbaric!" Hermione angrily voiced as she sat next to Ron on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"I don't believe she's human." Astrid laughed as Neville spoke his own opinion. Neville simply shook his head and plopped down beside Astrid on the couch.

"You know, even when she had me do lines for backtalk last month…my hand didn't hurt nearly as bad…or bleed as much." Astrid spoke while inspecting her hand that was covered in drying blood.

"Here, let's go clean you up Astrid." Neville grabbed Astrid's non injured hand and lead her up to his dormitory.

"I swear…when will those two realize how bad they've got it for each other?" Hermione sighed after the two had left.

"What?" Ron was clearly confused by Hermione's statement.

"Come on Ron, it's obvious the two fancy each other like mad."

"But I thought she fancied Dean?"

"Well, she did…but she never loved him. Astrid loves Neville and he loves her."

"Honesty Ron, it's been obvious to everyone but them…well, and you." Harry agreed with Hermione.

Meanwhile, Neville had just finished filling up a small bowl with warm water and gave it to Astrid so she could soak her hand.

"You know that the quills are made so you can only heal it naturally, and that magic won't work, right Neville?"

"Yeah, but I still want to help you clean it."

"You don't have to, I mean all we can do is clean off the blood and bandage it…and I could do that myself…"

"I know Astrid., but I want to do it...so let me. Okay?" With that Neville gently grabbed Astrid's hand and slowly began wiping off the dried blood. Her hand was soft, petite and warm in his own large and less graceful hands. Yet Neville took extra care in cleaning her wound, just as much care he took when working with his beloved plants. However, when he hit a rather nasty part of her wound, Astrid let out a hiss in pain. "Sorry!"

"It's fine Neville, just stings a bit." Once Neville finished, he wrapped her hand tightly in a bandage before patting it softly.

"All done."

"Thank you Neville." Astrid leaned forward and hugged Neville before placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow in potions. Good night." Astrid left Neville still sitting on the end of his bed, Neville could feel his face burn from blushing… he reached up and touched his own cheek where she had just innocently kissed him.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's the third installment in my story! There's a fairly big twist coming up, and I doubt anyone saw it coming. Enjoy and please review!

"Oh honesty Harry, when will you realize that we're all in this together. We just got Umbridge taken by centaurs…we're coming with you." I pointed out bluntly to Harry.

"Alright…" Harry seemed reluctant but knew he would need us.

"Well, how are we getting to London?" Neville asked a question none of us had thought about.

"I have an idea; We could ride Thestrals?" Luna suggested in her dreamy voice.

"What on earth is a-" But I was cut off by Harry who had suddenly brightened.

"Excellent idea Luna," Harry said before taking off towards the Forbidden Forest, "Come on!" We all followed Harry and Luna to a clearly just by the Forest. "Alright, everyone find your own Thestral and climb on."

"Um, Harry I hate to tell you this…but I think you need new glasses. There is nothing here." Hermione stated the obvious.

"Thestrals can only been seen by those who have witnessed death. Don't worry Hermione, they're here." Luna said and the proceeded to help Harry guide Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and myself each to our own Thestral. It took us a while to all climb up and get settled but eventually we were all soaring through the air. It was really quite unnerving not being able to see what you were flying on. Most of the way I closed my eyes and imagined I was on a broom. We flew through the night sky for what felt like hours. Eventually we made it into the Ministry and were now crowded inside a lift; We went down several floors before we heard a ding and a voice announced where we were.

_"Department of Mysteries."_

"This is it." Harry spoke aloud after we stepped into a long hallway. We all followed Harry down the long corridor and through the door at the end. We found ourselves in a rather massive room; as far as the eye could see, there were shelves upon shelves of glowing glass orbs. The place was covered in cobwebs and was so dark we had to use our wands for light. Harry took off ahead of us looking for Sirius; we followed him until he broke into a light run.

"He should be here…" Harry called out to us.

"Harry, it's got your name on it." Neville said pointing to a particular orb. Harry jogged back to us and took the orb in his hand; suddenly a soft, raspy voice spoke out from the orb.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches._

_And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, _

_But he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not._

_For neither can live while the other survives."_

"Harry!" I called out as I suddenly saw a figure walking slowly towards us from a dark recess of the room.

"You know you should really learn the difference between dreams and reality…" The figure spoke as he took off his Death Eater mask; it was Lucius Malfoy. "You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Hand me the prophecy, Potter."

"No…I'll break it if you do anything to us." Just then we heard a loud cackling laugh.

"Wittle baby Potter knows how to play."

"Bellatrix Lestrange…" Neville called out to the crazy looking witch. My stomach instantly dropped and I felt fire course through my veins.

"Neville Longbottom is it? How's mum and dad?" Bellatrix sneered at Neville.

"Better now that they're going to be avenged." Neville raised his wand but I quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him from doing something rash.

"Haven't you ever wondered why you have a connection with the Dark Lord?" Lucius tried to lure Harry in with his smooth talking. "I can show you why…"

"I've waited 14 years…" Harry paused, "Guess I could wait a little longer."

"Stupefy!" We all called out to the numerous death eaters who had appeared around us, we all broke into a run heading various ways in the Hall of Prophecies. I was running with Ginny as two death eaters flew right in front of us; Ginny cursed one and I stunned the other.

"Everyone, head for the door!" Harry yelled out, Ginny and I grabbed hands and took off towards the door as all the shelves of prophecies began falling behind us. We ran through the door and began falling in darkness, only to stop momentarily to brace the fall. The ground was dirty and the room was large but not nearly as large as the last one. In the center of the room was a big archway with a veil or curtain of sorts. We all stood and brushed ourselves off and Harry began walking towards the veil.

"You hear those voices?"

"There aren't any voices, Harry." Hermione spoke as we all followed Harry. "We need to get out of here; clearly we fell for their trap."

"Get behind me!" Harry called out; we all shuffled behind him and watched as the Death Eaters approached through apparition. They all swarmed around us and I could hear struggling around me before I felt a pair of cold hands grab me around my waist and pull me away. I began to let out an ear-piercing scream only to have a wand thrust against my neck; this made me keep quiet very fast. I was then pulled flush against my captive who I could tell was male; he moved his wand arm to hold me more securely and used the other to pull my hair back from my neck. In a panic I looked around to see Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna all held captive by other Death Eaters. I then saw Harry standing in the middle with Lucius not too far.

"Look at that…you've got Burby…" I heard a sadistic male voice call from where Luna was. "I'm jealous!"

"Tell me darling, does she taste as delicious as her mother did?" Bellatrix called out to whoever was holding me, I assumed now it was her husband Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Astrid!" I heard Neville scream, "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Oh, what's this then? Longbottom's got a soft spot for Burby" Bellatrix teased Neville. "Go ahead, do it…taste her." Right on command I felt him breathe onto my ear before his scratchy stubble grazed my shoulder. His tongue flicked out and stroked my ear, which caused me to whimper. Rodolphus then licked his way down to the hollow where my neck connected to my shoulder, he paused a moment, grazing his teeth on the sensitive spot before biting down hard, cause the skin to break and my blood to flow. I screamed out as pain shot through me, but I refused to cry.

"That's enough. We have a mission and must-" However Lucius was cut off by several blinding streaks of white light as the Order of the Phoenix all apparated into the room. My captive was suddenly blown backwards as Sirius Black cast a curse at him. I ran forwards to Sirius and collapsed into his arms.

"It's alright now Astrid." He spoke as he hugged me, "I'll get him for you, I promise."

"Astrid!" I heard Neville yell as he ran up to me and Sirius.

"Here Neville, you protect her for me, okay?" Sirius handed me to Neville and we made a dash for cover where Hermione and Ron were crouched. Neville pulled me into his chest and tucked me into his arms tightly as I balled up in his lap. The battle continued for what felt like ages but in reality was only minutes; then I heard two of the most dreaded words come from Bellatrix Lestrange's mouth.

"Avada Kedavra!" The woman cackled loudly. Somehow I knew she had cast that curse at Sirius.

"NO!" I heard Harry scream. I jumped out of Neville's lap and looked up to see the body of Sirius Black be taken behind the veil. I could feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. Sirius Black had meant the world to me; he was a mentor and a great man...and he was also my biological father. I could feel my body weaken and my vision go blurry.

"I killed Sirius Black!" Bellatrix cackled merrily in the background.

"Astrid, are you okay?" I heard Neville ask in concern. I turned to face him and slumped into his arms sobbing. My true father had just died.

_**Flashback**_

_ "Astrid, there's something we want to tell you." My father said as I sat down in front of him and Sirius. "Astrid, there's no easy way to say this, you understand." I nodded my heard and waited for my dad to continue. "You see, your mother, myself and Sirius have done everything in our power to keep you safe. We've always had you as our first priority…"he trailed off seeming to be at a loss for words. "Astrid... I'm not your father, Sirius is…."_

_ "...What?" _

_ "Now let me explain. I was good friends with your mother…but she was in love with Sirius. They had plans to go off and get married, but with the war…it was impossible for them. Your mother became pregnant with you and your sister and wanted to protect the two of you. She knew she couldn't stay with Sirius; it was too dangerous with him because of his obvious connection to Lily and James... Your mother came to me as a friend, begging for help…we did our best; posing as muggles, but it wasn't enough."_

_ "How could you have never told me?" I was rather angry…this whole time I thought HE was my father._

_ "Astrid, I know it's difficult to accept, but you must understand…times were much different then…everything we did was to protect you!" _

_ "Well a lot of bloody good that did for my mother and sister!" I yelled as I stormed out of the sitting room._

I had since mended my relationship with my father…both biological and my "situational" one I guess you could say. We decided to keep it between us though, so as not to put a larger target on myself. I kept Burby as my last name and still called David my dad while calling Sirius by his first name. It was hard when we were around other people and I wanted nothing more than to bond with Sirius; however we could do this when it was just the two of us and he would tell me all sorts of stories about my mother. Sirius would always comment on how much I looked like my mother, but he claims I got all my charm from him, of course. David had told me about my mother, but it was always basic things. Sirius however would really delve and tell me so much about my mother, especially about their relationship. It seems like my mother and Sirius were a match made in heaven. With Sirius gone I lost my connection to my mother that I had felt with Sirius. I forced myself to look at the bright side however; my parents were together with my sister and I knew they would always be with me.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I hope you enjoy my fourth addition! Please read and review, Thanks!

Since the Battle at the Ministry, the Daily Prophet and the Ministry of Magic both recognized that Voldemort had in fact returned. The days were steadily growing darker and darker, as if a giant tempest were heading our way. After Sirius died, it was publicly announced in the Daily Prophet that I was his "long lost daughter"; Sirius had left everything he owned to me and Harry. I decided to change my surname legally to Burby-Black as a tribute to my dead father and my living one as well. Since it was common knowledge now that I was the daughter of Sirius, it was fairly obvious that I had a large target on my back and that the Death Eaters would be looking for me, especially Bellatrix Lestrange. My father feared for my safety so we hid out during the summer at 12 Grimmauld Place, where most of the Order of the Phoenix resided. It was quite strange to stay there without Sirius to keep me company while my father went on missions with the other members of the Order. I missed how on rainy days Sirius and I would drink hot tea by the fire while would tell me all sorts of stories from his years at Hogwarts. The entire house seemed darker without Sirius... Eventually the end of summer holiday was here; my father returned to our own home and I went to spend the last week of my summer with the Weasley's at the Burrow. It took both me and my father to convince Hermione's parents that we would be safe at Hogwarts and should return for our sixth year. Luckily they understood the importance of education and let Hermione join me at the Burrow for a few days before we left for school.

On one of our last nights at the Burrow, at around nine in the evening Hermione and I were brushing our teeth and preparing for bed. Just as I had finished brushing my teeth and grabbed my comb to de-tangle my long hair we heard Ginny call up to us.

"Is Harry up there with any of you?" Hermione and I went to the stairs and leaned over, looking down at Ginny.

"No…He's not here." I answered slowly.

"Well his stuff is."

"Harry's here?" Ron asked as he popped out of his door.

"No one's seen him. Apparently he's just wandering around somewhere."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Really." We all heard Harry laugh as he spoke to us from the living room. Hermione, Ron and I all ran down the stairs and over to Harry. We each hugged him and greeted the boy we hadn't seen all summer.

"What's all this?" Molly asked as she walked out of the kitchen, we separated and she immediately saw Harry. "Oh Harry! So good to see you, why didn't you tell us you'd be coming?"

"I didn't know I would be, Dumbledore sort of just dropped me here."

"Ah, that man…should have known." Molly then saw his luggage and Hedwig, "Well, let's get you settled into Ron's room then?"

Once we had everything settled in and Aunt Molly had gone to sleep, Hermione, Harry, Ron and I all went into Ron's room where Harry told us about his evening with Dumbledore. "He said he's going to give me private lessons this year as well…" Harry spoke.

"Probably some high level defensive stuff… with you-know-who and his followers lurking about and you being their biggest target." I explained.

"Right… well how have things been with you all?" Harry asked but didn't get a reply right away…finally I was the one to speak up.

"It's been real dark Harry. People are disappearing every day. You don't know who to trust and people have been saying that Hogwarts won't be safe…in fact, Hermione and I had to virtually beg to come back."

"And my mum isn't happy about me and Ginny returning either. Loads of people won't be returning."

"But it's Hogwarts we're talking about, Dumbledore's there." Harry tried to reason.

"I know but…well, some people seem to think he's gone off his rocker." I tried to say it as gentle as possible.

"What a load of bullocks…it's Dumbledore we're talking about."

"I know Harry…"

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOX**_

It was finally September 1st, and Hermione, Ron, Harry, and I were all sharing a compartment together. The train had left the station only moments earlier and we had just finished getting our trunks all settled in when Luna and Neville appeared at the compartment door.

"Neville!" I called out as I got up from my seat and went over to hug my best friend who I hadn't seen all summer. "Blimey, you've gotten tall Neville." He blushed just like he always does and averted his gaze to everyone else in the compartment.

"Hi everyone." He said shyly. I went back to my seat and Neville sat down next to me. Luna took a seat on my other side and picked up Mynx and set him on her lap, Luna then struck up a conversation with Harry, Hermione and Ron. Neville and I weren't particularly interested so I turned to face Neville and smiled at him, brushing some hair behind my ear.

"How are you Neville? I never heard from you, how come you didn't write?" I asked.

"Gran didn't think it was safe…She said there's been a lot of owls getting intercepted. I didn't really want to chance it." I nodded in understanding. "Where were you this summer anyways?"

"I spend a week back at home, but some rather shady people started hanging about our area so my dad took us to stay at the Order's safe house until about a week ago when I went to stay at the Burrow with my cousins. My dad's gone back to work at the ministry though and is living back at home…it gets me nervous to be honest." There was a short silence between us before I reached forwards and grabbed his hand. "I really missed you Neville."

"I missed you too." We spent the rest of the ride talking about the most random of things, trading chocolate frog cards and eating all sorts of food from the trolley. Harry left us about half way through the train ride and when we reached Hogwarts and began to disembark the train, Harry was nowhere in sight.

"He's probably got ahead of us somehow…" Hermione guessed as we all got into a carriage that took us up to the castle. "I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOX**_

The school year had proved to be a rather difficult one, all the classes were very advanced and it was nearly impossible to keep up with the loads of work we all had. Somehow, Harry still managed to keep a keen eye on Draco; he was convinced the Slytherin was up to no good. Even though I understood how Harry felt about Malfoy, I also felt that my education should come before anything else. It was my goal in life to become an Auror, and I had aced my O.W.L.'s for Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I had just barely managed to score high enough in Herbology. Herbology had always been a very difficult subject for me, though I still managed to do better than Ron. Luckily Neville was a Herbology genius and spent many hours in years previous tutoring me and this year was no different; in fact this year it seemed Neville and I were always in the greenhouses together. Neville had a natural talent for teaching Herbology and I would often point it out, even if he would laugh it off.

"Seriously Neville, you should become the Herbology teacher here when Professor Sprout retires." We were in greenhouse 6, cleaning up after tending to some Venomous Tentacula.

"Yeah…right." Neville scoffed.

"Oh come on Neville…you'd be perfect." I paused while taking off my dragon-hide gloves, shoving them into the pockets of my robes. "What were you planning on doing anyways?"

"I want to become an Auror with you and Harry; I thought I told you that."

"Oh blimey, I didn't think you were serious Neville. You really want to be an Auror? Well, that way we could work together, maybe be partners."

"Yeah, if we get through our N.E.W.T.'s and the training as well…"

"Oh don't remind me…" I groaned out in misery. "You going to Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, are you going? Or do you have choir rehearsal?"

"I have rehearsal, but it doesn't start until 7, so I'll be able to go for an hour or so." We made our way out of the greenhouse and headed up to the common room where other students were already gathered to head to Hogsmeade.

"Would you mind joining me for a butterbeer?" Neville asked me once we stopped in the middle of the common room.

"Yeah, of course. I just have to change real quick; I'll be down in a few." With that we separated and I jogged up to my dorm and pulled off my robes after grabbing some clothes and heading into the bathroom to change. It was snowing outside, so I decided to grab a pair of black corduroy pants and a violet jumper. I combed through my hair and sprayed on a bit of perfume since I was slightly smelly from being around Dragon dung all day. Before I headed out the door I grabbed my knit hat, scarf and gloves that aunt Molly had made me last Christmas. I quickly jogged down the stairs and saw that Neville had changed into warmer, non-uniform clothes and was sitting in an armchair waiting for me as he warmed himself by the fire. "You ready?" Neville nodded at me and we both made our way out of the castle and finally into the warmth of The Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade where we sat at our usual booth in the back of the pub. Once we sat down we each ordered a butterbeer and soon sat holding the warm drink up to our mouths, drinking leisurely.

"There's nothing quite like a warm butterbeer on a cold day." Neville said happily.

"I agree." I smiled at him, taking a large gulp of the soothing drink. "So, how have you been Neville? I feel like the only things we talk about anymore is school work."

"I know, this year is really difficult… I've been fine though, stressed but I'm glad we get to spend so much time together…even if it's to do homework together." We both laughed and fell into a comfortable silence before I began to look around the pub. I saw Dean and Ginny snogging in a booth. I didn't really have any romantic feelings for Dean, and I was glad that Ginny seemed happy…but I couldn't help but notice how obvious it was that Harry was head over heels for my cousin. I continued to survey the pub and saw Ron and Lavender also snogging in another booth…but poor Hermione and Harry we off at another table, each looking rather miserable. It was so obvious that Hermione and Ron belonged together, just like Harry and Ginny…I'm telling you, my cousins are absolutely daft sometimes. Now that I actually thought about it, it seemed that almost everyone in our year was either romantically involved or seriously attracted to someone else…well, expect for me and Neville…and Draco. I'd never really fancied anyone other than Dean, although in my third year I sort of fancied Harry…but once I found out that Sirius was my dad, I could only look at Harry as a brother. I shook my head and looked away from all the romance and back to Neville.

Neville was sort of staring off into space like he does when he's thinking really hard. He was chewing on his bottom lip and had his eyebrows knit together tightly…it was quite cute actually. Neville had always been so nice to me, even when we were both first years. I still remember the little pudgy boy who couldn't remember the portrait password and was so accident and injury prone. Neville had really grown up over the years; it seemed he got taller every time I saw him. Neville had also lost a lot of his baby fat over the years, especially over this past summer. Neville was still a little pudgy around his middle, which in my opinion only made him an even better teddy bear that always gave the absolute best hugs. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I would really fancy Neville if I wasn't such good friends with him now…I'm actually really surprised he hasn't had a girlfriend yet, he is a total sweetheart, even if he is shy and awkward around most girls. Come to think of it now, I don't think Neville's never mentioned a girl he's fancied, at least not to me. This realization hit me hard and made me wonder if we really were as close as I thought.

"Neville…can I ask you something, even if it's sort of awkward?" I asked almost nervously.

"Sure, ask me anything." He replied.

"Well, it's just that I've just realized you've never told me about any girls you've fancied…and I was wondering if you fancied anyone?" Before I knew it, Neville was beet red and suddenly became very interested in the bottom of his empty mug. "Oh come on Neville, you can tell me, I'm your best mate." I tried to coax him some.

"Yeah, I do fancy someone…" He sort of mumbled out quietly.

"Who is she? …it is a she right? I mean it doesn't matter to me! Either way I'm still gonna support you."

"Oi! Of course it's a girl."

"Just making sure. I mean I'd still love you if you were gay."

"But I'm not!"

"Right, sorry Nev…" I officially felt stupid, "well, who is it then?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Oh come on Neville!"

"I don't want you to make fun of me."

"I won't make fun of you Neville, you're my best mate."

"I don't want her to know…yet. I'll tell you when I want her to know, alright?"

"Okay, fair enough." I huffed and sat back against the wooden booth. "Why don't you tell me about her…what is it about her that you like?"

"Well, for starters she's the most beautiful and talented witch I've ever met." For some reason this confession made my heart sink and my eyes instantly drifted towards Hermione…it made sense. Hermione was beautiful, and amazingly talented. I didn't dare express my guess though.

"What else?"

"Well…she's always been really nice and sweet to me, even when others weren't. I can't tell you how many times she's stood up for me." It definitely had to be Hermione; she always defended Neville, even since our first year. I acted happy for Neville and smiled at him encouragingly, but it was difficult to ignore the strange pain in the bottom of my stomach..it felt similar to that one time in third year went I swallowed a few Fizzing Whizzbees the wrong way and they got agitated and proceeded buzzed around against my stomach walls painfully.

"I'm happy for you Nev, she's a lucky girl. I hope things work out."

"Yeah, me too. I can't imagine being with anyone else." We sat there in silence and right after I finished my butterbeer, Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw boy in the Frog Choir, came up to our table.

"Hi, Astrid, Neville."

"Hi Michael" I stood and hugged Michael. We had really gotten to know each other while in Frog Choir as well as in a few classes…not to mention he was quite handsome in a dark sort of way.

"I'm going to head up to the castle for rehearsal, care to join me?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." I grabbed my scarf and gloves before turning back to Neville, "Hey Neville, can you grab me a few chocolate frogs and sugar skulls at Honeyduke's for me? I told my dad I would get him some for Christmas…and I'll pay you back, I swear." Neville nodded and I turned back to Michael who grabbed my hand in his, which sent a blush to my cheeks.

"Let's go then." Michael said before leading us out of the Three Broomsticks and up to Hogwarts castle.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: A big thanks to Vanillastar for the review! If you are ever curious about what Astrid looks like or some of her outfits throughout the story, check out my profile and you'll see some links. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new addition!

* * *

><p>It's been a few weeks since Astrid had been at Hogsmeade with Neville, and tonight was Slughorn's Christmas party for his "Slug Club". A lot had happened in the past few weeks; Draco had become more reclusive and had even ditched Crabbe and Goyle; Katie Bell had been cursed from a necklace and was now in St. Mungo's; but last and certainly most important to Astrid was that she was now dating Michael Corner. It was a rather relaxed relationship; they both just felt that they needed someone to be close to in these dark times. Michael was a nice guy even though Ron was "creeped out" by him. Michael was a bit "dark" in his appearance and demeanor, but Astrid had gotten know him well enough and she personally find it was sort of sexy.<p>

Unfortunately, Astrid's new relationship with Michael had somewhat caused her and Neville to drift apart; Astrid found that whenever she was free she'd spend that time with Michael instead of Neville. It made Astrid feel bad when she would see Neville alone, but she figured it would only be a matter of time before Neville built up the courage to confess his feelings to whoever his mystery girl was.

"Astrid, what are you wearing tonight?" Hermione asked as she nervously combed out her tangled locks.

"I was stuck between the blue dress and the green one…but I've decided on the blue since it brings out my eyes." Astrid replied before grabbing the strapless blue dress and quickly changing into it. Next Astrid picked out a pair of dangly earrings her father David had bought her last Christmas and her mother's old ring; it had been passed down through her family for generations. Next Astrid cast a quick hair smoothing spell then pinned her hair in a way so that half of it was hanging down her back in long curls. Astrid then put on some make up, giving her eyes a slight shimmery and smoky look, and then she put on some ruby red lipstick. Once Astrid had finished and slipped on her silver heels, she told Hermione she would wait for her in the common room.

"Astrid, you look so pretty!" Ginny bubbled excitedly the second the saw Astrid come down the stairs.

"Thanks Gin, you look beautiful as well." Ginny was wearing a simple, yet perfect green frock and had her hair in a beautiful braid. The pair of cousins sat on the couch and talked for another few minutes before Hermione joined them, dressed in her light pink halter dress; like always, Hermione was drop dead gorgeous…it was a pity she was going with the oaf Cormac McLaggen. Once the girls had finished complimenting each other, they finally made it to the party where Astrid met Michael outside.

"You look great, Astrid." Michael spoke as he smiled down at the redhead.

"Thank you Michael, you look pretty handsome yourself." Astrid said blushing; Michael was wearing a pair of dark dressing robes and looked rather dashing. Michael offered Astrid his arm and they entered the party together. It was a nice party and was beautifully decorated with gold material covering the castle walls; swing music was playing from an old bewitched gramophone in one corner.

There were a few people dancing, so Michael whisked Astrid to the dance floor where they danced for a few songs before we stopped to get refreshments. Astrid went over to a corner where Hermione was hiding from Cormac and waited while Michael went to talk to some other Ravenclaw boy before grabbing two cups of pumpkin juice. It was then that Astrid recognized Neville as one of the waiters walking around with a tray of hors d'oeuvres.

"Neville!" Astrid called out and he turned around to face her. Neville could feel his heart stop momentarily as he first laid eyes on Astrid. This girl standing a mere fifteen feet away from his had to be a goddess. If he didn't already know who she was he would swear he was looking at Aphrodite. But this wasn't the goddess of love, this was his best friend…and she was dating Michael Corner. Neville quickly placed the thought out of his mind and focused on Astrid. She looked absolutely ravishing in her strapless, dark blue dress. Astrid was perfect; the way her eyes lit up the room and stole the air from his lungs, and her lips…they were bloody perfect, pouty and supple. Oh how Neville wished he could just march right up to her, throw his arms around her and snog her senseless. However Neville was abruptly brought out of his thoughts when he noticed that Astrid was suddenly right in front of him, looking straight up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. "You look so handsome and sharp, Neville!"

"You look absolutely beautiful Astrid, honestly." Neville set down his tray at a nearby table and leaned down to pull Astrid into a warm embrace. Without realizing what the other was doing, they each drew in a deep breath of each other's scent. Astrid smiled at Neville's very earthy smell that was mingling with a bit of an aftershave scent; likewise, Neville was delighted with Astrid's cinnamon smell…it reminded him of Christmas morning.

"How've you been Neville?" Astrid asked once they pulled back from the embrace. "I feel like I never see you anyone."

"I've been fine, studying a lot. I spend most of my time in the greenhouses. What about you?"

"Yeah, I've been great…speaking of greenhouses though, I've been having trouble with that Herbology assignment we have to do over the break… do you think you could find some time to help me with it?"

"Of course, how about tomorrow after dinner in the common room?" Neville suggested.

"Sounds great," Astrid confirmed and right on cue, Michael walked right up to Astrid and Neville with a pumpkin juice in each hand.

"Hello Neville," Michael greeted as he handed Astrid one of the drinks. "How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks. You?"

"I'm good, so what were you two talking about?"

"Not much really…Neville's going to help me with that Herbology assignment I told you about." Astrid answered.

"I'd help her, but I'm afraid I'm quite hopeless at Herbology." Michael laughed, "Hey Astrid, do you-" Michael was cut off by a commotion that came through the door. It was Filch storming in with Draco Malfoy who was held tightly in Filch's grubby hands.

"Get your filthy hands off me you bloody squib!" Malfoy growled out nastily.

"What's the meaning of this?" Slughorn asked as Filch brought the Slytherin into the center of the room where Slughorn had been conversing with Ginny.

"Found him lurking about outside in the corridor….sneaking around, up to no good-"

"Alright, I was gate crashing!" Malfoy admitted.

"I'll escort the boy out and make sure he returns to his dormitory." Professor Snape drawled out as he walked up to the scene.

"Thank you, Severus…" Slughorn nodded at Severus and waited as the two quickly made their way out of the party. "Alright, everyone back to the party then." Slughorn spoke waving his arms in a casual manner.

"What a git." Michael spoke to Astrid and Neville.

"Yeah, he's been rather odd this year hasn't he? Probably up to something…" Neville surmised.

"Oh come on Neville, don't start talking like Harry now!" Astrid laughed.

"He has a point you know…Malfoy has been acting very suspicious this year, he's even ditched Crabbe and Goyle." Michael agreed with Neville.

"Oh no, not you too Michael?" Astrid groaned out jokingly. "I swear, don't you boys have anything better to do that speculate about Malfoy?"

"No…not really." Michael said with his face dead pan. "I'm only joking love, don't worry." Michael laughed and kissed Astrid on her cheek.

* * *

><p>"So Fanged Geranium teeth are only regenerative if they've been properly watered and fertilized, correct?" Astrid asked Neville as she finished up jotting down some final details to her assignment.<p>

"Right, but if it gets too much sun, it won't regenerate the teeth even if it's been watered and fertilized."

"Okay…" Neville watched as Astrid bit her bottom lip while writing quickly on the parchment. "I think that's it…yeah, I'm done and now I won't have any work to do over the holiday. Thanks Neville I don't know what I'd do without you."

"It's no problem; I enjoy helping you because it means we get to hang out together." Neville smiled at the redhead as she rolled up her parchment and placed it into her book bag along with her quill and inkwell. Astrid closed her bag and set it back onto the ground by her armchair before sitting back in the plush seat.

"So, how's it going with this mystery girl?" Astrid asked. Neville didn't quite know how to answer her question; should he be honest? Neville wanted nothing more than to tell Astrid exactly how he felt about her…that she was the "mystery girl", but he knew that she liked Michael…plus Michael was a nice bloke and Neville didn't have the nerve to muck that up.

So who else could he tell Astrid that he liked? Well, he didn't truly fancy anyone else, although he knew of one girl who had been showing interest in him recently. Hannah Abbott had been flirting with him all year in Herbology class and now that he thought about it, she wasn't too bad looking…actually she was quite pretty, though nothing compared to Astrid. Maybe he should make a move with Hannah? That might get Astrid's attention; maybe make her jealous…Yeah, that's what he would do! It wasn't the best idea, but at least he wouldn't be alone anymore.

"About that…well, I think someone fancies me." Neville said slowly.

"Really?" Astrid's shocked tone sent a sharp pang through Neville's chest. "Who is it?"

"Hannah Abbott…she's been flirting with me all year. I think I'm going to ask her out."

"Oh…well, I'm sure she'd say yes. She would be stupid to say no." Astrid spoke as her eyes drifted away from Neville onto a random spot on the burgundy carpet of the common room. "I didn't know you fancied her."

"Well, I don't really fancy her much; I mean she's pretty and really nice…"

"But I thought you fancied her? Wait, is she the girl you told me about in the Three Broomsticks?"

"Not exactly…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, she seems to be involved with someone else. I've sort of given up on her, I guess."

"Oh…"

"It's fine though, Hannah's nice enough." Astrid nodded and looked back at Neville; for some reason she didn't feel comfortable with talking about him being romantically interested in other girls.

"I'm really tired Neville, I'm gonna go to bed." Astrid said getting up from her arm chair. Neville also stood and they hugged before heading to their own dormitories to both fall into a fitful slumber.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hello all, I am very happy and surprised at how many of you are reading, favorite-ing and putting my story on your alert list! Thank you to SunshineWitch29 for her review. As a fair warning, this chapter is where the **M** rating begins to take effect. I know at the moment there's not a lot of Astrid and Neville action, but good things come to those who wait, haha. Oh! I will not be updating for a few days because I will actually be at the Wizard World of Harry Potter on vacation...but hopefully I'll get lots of inspiration so I'll write like a madwoman when I get back! Thank you for reading and please remember to review!

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><p><em><strong> Third Person POV<strong>_

It was now spring at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and you could say that both love and heartbreak was in the air. Ron and Lavender had broken up; Ron was perfectly fine and dandy to be rid of Lavender…but she was quite upset over it. Luckily this meant that Hermione could resume her friendship with Ron, and so the Golden Trio was reunited once again. Dean and Ginny had broken up as well and Ginny started dating Harry after Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup. Astrid was still with Michael, although their relationship so far was relaxed and nowhere near as heated as Ron and Lavender's had been. Shortly after Christmas break, Neville began flirting back with Hannah and the two were now dating. Many of the students were surprised, especially Hermione Granger. Hermione knew that Neville was only dating Hannah to make Astrid jealous, and it was working…but only on Astrid's subconscious self. Astrid was quite possibly one of the most stubborn girls Hermione had ever known, she was even verging on being more stubborn than Ron which is saying a lot. Hermione often tried to get Astrid to slip up and confess her feelings about Neville, but so far it hadn't worked.

While the days grew warmer as spring was slowly turning into summer; Harry, Hermione, Ron and Astrid couldn't help but notice the growing darkness surrounding Malfoy. When the friends all returned from the Burrow after Christmas break, it was apparent to them all that something had happened to Malfoy, and it clearly had something to with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Malfoy was often seen lurking about the seventh corridor where Harry said Draco would disappear off the Marauder's Map entirely. After a few weeks of stealth work on Dobby's part, Harry learned that Malfoy had been sneaking off to the Room of Requirement. This surprised Astrid, Hermione and Ron when Harry told them; now it was clear that Draco Malfoy was up to no good. One day when the growing animosity between Harry and Malfoy exploded in the form of a duel, Harry ended up badly injuring Draco. This event was what finally convinced Harry to get rid of his _Advanced Potion Making_ book that was once property of the "Half-Blood Prince".

"I'm telling you, he's a Death Eater." Harry spoke quietly to Astrid, Hermione and Ron as they all sat in front of the fireplace in the empty Gryffindor common room.

"Right, I agree with you Harry." Ron said.

"I know that it seems like he's up to no good, but how can you two just say that? I mean it's a bit rash." Hermione tried to reason.

"They do have a point Hermione; the only people who use the Room of Requirement are those who want to keep their business a secret. I mean when we used it for the D.A. we were up to something big." Astrid pointed out.

"That's true, and I'm not saying he's innocent by any means, I'm just saying that I don't think Malfoy has the guts to become an actual Death Eater. That's a major thing to do, even for his standards."

"Yeah, but his dad is a Death Eater and Draco is just a mini version of Lucius!" Astrid argued.

"I don't know…the whole situation gives me a headache." Ron groaned out.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Harry said rubbing his forehead.

"Has your scar been hurting you much?" Astrid asked.

"Like hell. It's been terrible the past few weeks, I expect it has something to do with all the memories about Voldemort I see during my lessons with Dumbledore." Harry guessed.

"Or maybe Voldemort and the Death Eaters are closer than we think? It might connect with what Draco's been up to in the Room of Requirement." Astrid suggested and Harry instantly sat straight up.

"You're bloody brilliant…that has to be it!" Harry said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…Calm down Harry, you can't jump to conclusions. Astrid only made a connection between your scar hurting and Malfoy's sudden activity in the Room of Requirement. We don't actually have any idea, or evidence, of what he's really up to." Hermione tried to reason with Harry.

"I understand Hermione, but I've got this feeling, you know? Malfoy's about to do some big…something bad. I just know it." Harry spoke determinedly.

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><p><em><strong>Astrid's POV<strong>_

It had been a little over a week since the discussion Hermione, Harry, Ron and I had in the common room where I made the suggestion that Harry's intensifying pain from his scar may be in connection to whatever it was that Malfoy was planning. Of course I had no concrete proof, but sometimes a hunch is all you need. Harry strongly believed this and had been following Malfoy's every move like a hawk. In fact, Hermione, Ron and I were also keeping close tabs on Malfoy as well. Malfoy seemed rather jittery lately and was in the Room of Requirement more often than not.

Classes were really taking up speed and I found it impossible to keep up with school work and Malfoy's doings. I had been spending more time with Neville recently than I had when I first started dating Michael. Unfortunately, all the time I spent with Neville was in the Greenhouses or the library where either he was tutoring me in Herbology or I was helping him write his papers for Potions class. We were pretty lucky that we were each weak in the others strengths. Even though we spent most of our time together talking about which is the best fertilizer for adult Fanged Geranium or how to correctly add in sliced caterpillars to a shrinking potion without it bubbling out of the cauldron, Neville still found ways to make me laugh and smile. Neville always knew how to cheer me up and make me feel good about myself and I always tried to do the same for him.

"Ah, finally finished!" Neville sighed happily as he looked at the large piece of parchment where he had written an essay on the Draught of Peace and its properties. "Thanks again Astrid, I thought I'd never finish that damned essay." Neville smiled at me and put away his essay along with his inkwell and quill.

"No problem Nev; it's always nice to spend time with you, even if it is in the library." I laughed quietly as I looked around at the moderately occupied library. We were seated at our usual table in the back right corner and like always there was no one else at the two other tables in our section. "So, how's Hannah? I haven't seen her in a few days."

"She's fine…a bit worried about all the disappearances, but she's always worried about something." I could sense the annoyance in Neville's voice; sometimes I wonder why he even asked her out; he had never seemed interested and then one day he was suddenly dating her and now every single time I saw the two together it seemed they were in a lip lock. Don't get me wrong, I mean I'm all for romance and affection towards your significant other…but I mean they seemed to always be snogging when I was around, I mean not even Michael and I snogged that much in public. One day, about two weeks ago, it really began to irritate me...I had walked into the library and saw the two talking so I decided to say hello. Literally the second Neville and Hannah saw me, Neville grabbed Hannah and they began snogging right in the middle of the library! It bothered me enough that I mentioned it to Hermione, who told me that she had seen them together loads of times but they were rarely snogging. It struck me as odd, but I decided not to put too much thought into because I always ended up more confused and with a headache to top it off!

"Astrid? Hello Astrid…You there, love?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as I saw Neville waving his hand in front of my face and heard him call out to me.

"What?" I asked quickly.

"I asked you how Michael was and you zoned out on me for a few moments." Neville laughed at me.

"Oh, sorry…um, Michael's great though. He's been busy with his work, so we haven't been able to get together too much. We have a date tonight though." I said perking up.

"Where are you going? It's not a Hogsmeade weekend…" Neville asked a little confused.

"Michael's planned a picnic down by the lake, romantic isn't it?"

"Yeah, sounds nice." Neville replied monotonously before standing up with his book bag in hand, "Well, I've got to go see Hannah, see you later Astrid." And just like that Neville was gone from the library, I didn't even have time to say goodbye he was so fast. I shook my head and stood before heading up to my dormitory to change for my date with Michael that would start in a little over an hour.

Once I got to my dorm I took a warm shower then brushed my teeth and dried my hair with the aid of a quick spell before I combed it out so my loose curls weren't tangled anymore. I put on a little bit of makeup and sprayed on some perfume before heading out of the bathroom and into my room wrapped up in a towel where I tried to decide what to wear. I wanted to dress up nice but not too fancy; I ended up putting on a strapless floral dress with some black argyle tights and my grabbed one cardigan I owned. It wasn't really chilly out, but I didn't feel one hundred percent comfortable with walking through the castle in a slightly revealing dress. I then slipped on a pair of heels and put on some jewelry, including the matching necklace and earrings Michael had given me for my seventeenth birthday back at the end of March. Once I had finished getting ready, I saw that I had about ten minutes before I had to meet Michael on the grand staircase. I quickly grabbed my picnic blanket then dashed out of Gryffindor Tower and made my way to the stairs where I saw Michael waiting with a picnic basket in his hands.

"You look beautiful tonight Astrid." Michael smiled and kissed me on the lips before he grabbed my hand in his and leading us out of the castle and down the grounds to a secluded area on the shore of the lake. It was absolutely amazing out, the stars were brightly twinkling and the air was crisp and sweet smelling. Michael took the striped blanket from me and laid it out next to the picnic basket. He then sat down and I joined him as he opened the basket to reveal two roast chicken sandwiches, one generous slice of treacle tart and two small bottles of butterbeer.

"This looks yummy Michael, thank you." I kissed him on the cheek and then we began eating leisurely while gazing at the stars and discussing our favorite constellations. Once we finished eating and each had emptied our bottles of butterbeer, we lay down and snuggled into each other.

"Michael…can I tell you something?" I asked after a comfortable silence.

"Of course, love."

"I'm scared…"

"Of what?"

"Everything really…you-know-who, the war that's brewing, Death Eaters…but mainly I'm scared for my dad. It seems people from the Ministry are disappearing every day, and with my dad being an Auror...it really has me scared that he'll be killed or taken by Death Eaters."

"I know how you feel, Astrid. These are dark times we live in…and I can't help but be scared too."

"Really?"

"Of course, remember last month a Ravenclaw fourth year's parents went missing, they found his mum a week later, floating in the Thames? That could have happen to any of us...hell, it could have been any of us _in_ the Thames, Astrid. I'm scared out of my wits, but I know I have to keep a brave face for the others, mainly the young ones." I looked over into Michael's eyes as he paused. "One of the only things that's kept me smiling everyday is you."

I leaned into Michael and softly pressed my lips against his. Michael was a good kisser and had perfectly warm lips that I found myself craving the more I thought about them. The kiss started off innocent enough but quickly grew urgent and heated; I opened my own lips and ran my tongue against his bottom lip, asking for entrance which he readily granted. Our tongues battled for dominance and we eventually had to pull back to gasp for air. However we didn't stay parted for long; Michael grabbed my hips as he kissed me fiercely again. I rolled over on top of Michael and moved my hands up to the front of his button down shirt. Michael slowly began rubbing circles into my hips as I undid the top few buttons on his shirt, pulling the material away so I could run my hands on his chest. I then move my mouth down his chin and to his neck, kissing every bit of flesh I found. I sucked and nibbled on his neck, just past his ear; he would surely have a hickey there for a few days.

Before I knew it Michael had flipped us and he was now on top of me, gazing down into my glazed over eyes with passion filling his own. He leaned down and we continued to snog heatedly while he ground his pelvis into my own…it was obvious that he was very aroused and I could feel every inch of him pressed hard against the junction between my legs. Michael moved one hand up to pin both my arms above my head while using his other hand to pull down my tights. I gasped into Michael's kiss as he boldly grasped me through my silk panties. I was in such a state of ecstasy I hardly realized that Michael was now sucking and nipping at my neck and had pushed my panties to the side before he slowly traced my nether lips with his skillful fingers. I bit my bottom lip and thrust my head back against the soft blanket as Michael inserted one finger inside of me. I shut my eyes tight and saw a kaleidoscope of bright flashing colors as he began pumping his finger in and out while rubbing my little bundle of nerves with his thumb. Just as I thought I couldn't get any higher, I felt a tightening in my abdomen before quick yet intense explosion burst through my body right as Michael bit down lightly on my neck.

"Oh god...Neville!" I cried out into the silent night. I hadn't even realized what I had said until everything stopped just as fast as it had started. Michael quickly pulled away from me and looked down into my eyes; his face was full of sadness, which was surprising since I was expecting anger.

"What?" He asked softly.

"I'm so sorry Michael, I didn't mean to! I don't know why I said his name!" I sat up and readjusted my clothing.

"I know why," I looked at him confused. "You love him Astrid, not me."

"That's not true Michael! I care for you so much!"

"But you don't love me…you love Neville. I've been trying to ignore it and convince myself you didn't…I knew you were too good to be true. I knew I wasn't lucky enough to keep you." It was clear to see that Michael really did love me, and I had just broken his heart by calling out Neville's name instead of Michael's.

"…I'm sorry Michael, honest."

"I know Astrid."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and for putting my story on alert! Please continues to read and review, it really means a lot to me...Here's part 7, hope you enjoy!

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><p><strong><em>Astrid's POV<em>**

"You what!" Hermione gasped out quite loudly.

"Shh!" I quieted her, "I don't want the whole bloody library to know!"

"Sorry," Hermione apologized while glancing around the library to see quite a few students glaring in our direction before returning to their books and essays. "You actually said **his** name while you were with _Michael?_" Hermione whispered to me. I nodded slowly, looking down at the book in my lap. "Oh Astrid…" Hermione sighed and came over to give me a comforting hug before returning to her seat. It had been a couple days since that last date with Michael, and news of our break-up spread like wild fire throughout the school. However, I had just built up the courage to tell Hermione about the main event behind our sudden breakup…I had yet to talk to Neville at all.

"I know Hermione… I can't believe I said his name. I mean how awkward?" I groaned out, placing my head in my hands.

"Well, at least it was still early on and you two weren't you know…_actually having sex_." Hermione whispered the last part so quietly that even I had trouble hearing her.

"Tell me about it, I would have just died on the spot in embarrassment." I groaned out, there was a silence between the two of us before Hermione sat up more in her seat and leaned closer to me.

"You know what this means, don't you?" She asked.

"That I don't have a boyfriend anymore…" I said slowly, stating the obvious.

"No…well yes, but that's not what I mean." Hermione clarified. "Astrid, it's fairly obvious that you fancy Neville. Hell you probably love him!"

"Hermione!" I was quite shocked to hear Hermione curse.

"Oh come on Astrid, don't be so daft."

"I'm not daft!" I argued, "Look, Neville is a friend and nothing more. Plus, he's dating Hannah. And I _was_ dating Michael but now I'm single. End of story."

"You really don't see it do you?"

"See what?"

"What's he's doing."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about Hermione?"

"Neville is only dating Hannah to make you jealous and get your attention." Hermione acted as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "At first I really thought that Neville may have fancied Hannah, but once you told me about them snogging around you so much it became clear. And when you told me about how much their snogging annoyed you, it only proved that Neville's plans worked."

"Really Hermione? ...I somehow don't see Neville scheming like this."

"Oh no, of course he didn't do it consciously. He probably just asked Hannah out because he was lonely."

"Hermione…as always, you are putting way too much thought into all of this." I shook my head and laughed at my best friend.

"Hey Astrid," I looked over my shoulder and saw Neville walking towards us. "Hi Hermione." Unfortunately Hannah was right by his side, holding onto his arm as the two walked up and sat down in the loveseat facing Hermione and I.

"Hi Neville, Hannah." Hermione smiled at the two; I just smiled at the pair.

"Astrid, I haven't seen much of you the past few days…" Neville paused and it looked like he was trying to think about what exactly to say next. "I heard about you an' Michael…I'm sorry to hear about that."

"It's fine really." I replied blandly.

"What happened? You two seemed very happy together…" Hannah asked curiously.

"I'd rather not talk about it, thanks." I snapped a little too harshly. "Look I've got to go. See you later Hermione." I quickly grabbed my bag and rushed out of the library. I had almost made it to the common room when I heard footsteps running up behind me.

"Astrid, slow down!" I turned and saw Neville jog up to me. "Blimey, it was hard catching up to you." He leaned over and placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath for a moment before straightening back and taking a closer step to me.

"What do you want Neville?"

"Why are you so upset? I just want to see how my best friend is doing."

"I really don't want to talk about it Neville, especially with you." I couldn't help but notice the look of hurt that crossed his face; it sent a sharp pang to my stomach and made me look away from Neville.

"We used to be able to talk about everything Astrid, what's happened?" I continued to look away until Neville grabbed my chin in his hand and forced me to look into his eyes. "Did Michael do something to you? I swear I'll kill him!"

"No Neville! Nothing like that…I just, I'm confused about my feelings and I need time to think is all." This seem to somewhat satisfy Neville as he simply nodded his head and let go of my chin.

"I understand; I've been the same way this whole bloody year. I swear it's the year from emotional hell."

"What do you mean? You seem happy with Hannah."

"…I guess, yeah." He seemed to hesitate with that answer, and it really didn't sound convincing at all.

"What's that supposed to mean? You want to tell me something?"

"I-yes, I do but I can't. I mean I really want to tell you, but I don't want to mess things up...I already do that without meaning to. But, I really need to tell you.. I-" He exhaled sharply and got a very determined look on his face. "I've wanted to tell you this for years, Astrid…I lo-"

"Oi, You two! Have you seen Hermione?" Ron cut off Neville as he and Harry jogged up to Neville and me.

"Yeah, she's studying in the library." I replied. The two boys nodded and shouted their thanks as they ran towards the library in the direction Neville and I had just come from. "You were saying, Neville?"

"It's nothing important really." Neville mumbled.

"Oh…well, I've got to go get ready for a last minute choir rehearsal." I turned on my heels and left Neville standing alone in the empty corridor. I quickly made it through the common room and into my dormitory. I placed my bag on top of my trunk at the end of my bed and threw myself back onto the covers. Today was turning out to be a rather shitty day…first I finally decided to tell Hermione about my date with Michael, which only led to me realizing that I'm more confused about my feelings than I am about my latest Herbology assignment. Then I had to see Neville and Hannah attached at the hip, this led to me flipping out and Neville trying to confront me about why I was giving him the cold shoulder for the past few days. Now, I had to go and face Michael at Frog Choir rehearsal! I mean it wouldn't be too bad, Michael seemed to understand my own feelings more than I did. Don't get me wrong though, it was still obvious that he was hurt…and I felt really horrid knowing that I was the one to cause him so much heartache. I just wish I didn't have any feelings at all! It would make things so much easier.

I sighed and got up from my bed, deciding that I better stop moping around before I lost track of the time and was late to rehearsal again. I had about forty-five minutes or so before rehearsal would start so I changed out of my normal clothes and back into my Hogwarts jumper and pleated skirt before slipping on some knee-high socks and my black Mary Jane's. I still had a bit of time left so I grabbed my favorite muggle book, _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ and headed down to the common room where I snuggled up with my book on the couch in front of the fireplace. I must have been reading for a good twenty minutes or more in the empty common room when someone burst through the portrait door. I looked up and saw that it was Hermione, Ron and Ginny all talking fiercely to each other.

"Hey, what's up with you lot?" I asked curiously.

"Astrid, something's going to happen tonight!" Ginny exclaimed as the trio made their way over to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Harry just talked to us and he's convinced that whatever it is Malfoy's been planning…it's going to happen tonight." Hermione spoke.

"And you actually believe him this time?" I asked.

"I know he's said it many times before, but this time he has some proof. Apparently Trelawney heard voices coming from the Room of Requirement while Draco was in there." Ginny informed me. "It definitely wasn't just Draco she heard, Harry's sure of it."

"Where is Harry anyways?" I asked.

"Dumbledore's taken him on some sort of mission. Harry didn't fill us in with details, because I don't believe he knew any himself…" Ron answered.

"Well, what's next?" I asked.

"We need to stake out the corridor outside of the Room of Requirement and wait for Malfoy to leave…from there we just need to keep an eye out and make sure his plans, whatever they might be, aren't fulfilled. We also should look at for Snape..." Hermione stated. "Come with us?"

"I know I need to; but I have rehearsal, and if I miss another one then I'll be kicked out…and choir is the one thing that's kept me sane this year." I explained. "I really want to join you, but maybe you could see about Luna and Neville? Or send out a message with the D.A. coins?"

"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Hermione groaned before she pulled out her coin and sent the message out to the rest of Dumbledore's Army to be on guard.

"Shoot, I've got to go or I'll be late again!" I gasped as I looked at my watch and saw that I had a little over five minutes to get across the castle for rehearsal. "Bye! And good luck!" I called out as I jumped up and quickly ran out of the common room. I knew I was probably making a big mistake, but I really felt like I should go to rehearsal. I made it down to the Great Hall where the rest of the Choir was crowded around while Professor Flitwick prepared the sheet music for today's rehearsal. Right as I walked up and said hello to Bem, Flitwick tapped his wand on the music stand to call us to attention.

"Good evening students and thank you for making it to tonight's rehearsal." The small wizard spoke. "Tonight I would like to work on our newest song, In Noctem." Flitwick waved his wand and sheet music for the song flew from the stack next to him to each of the music stands in front of myself and the other students. We spent a little while warming up, dividing everyone into sections and each rehearsing our harmonies before we were able to sing the song smoothly.

"_Carry my soul into the night  
>May the stars light my way<br>I glory in the sight  
>As darkness takes the day"<em>

It seemed that right as we began singing I got chills all over my body and the weather outside took a nasty turn which therefore affected the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. It started drizzling heavily outside and lighting began to quickly descend onto the area. There was an overall eerie silence that could be felt throughout the castle, it was clear that the other students and even Flitwick also felt the same chills I did as I looked around at everyone and the expressions they had on their faces.

"_Sing a song, a song of life  
>Lived without regret<br>Tell the ones, the ones I loved  
>I never will forget,<em>

_Never will forget."_

Just as we were singing the last line of the song, Professor McGonagall burst through the large doors of the Great Hall and came running down towards Professor Flitwick. The look on McGonagall's face was not an encouraging one and instantly made me worried. McGonagall leaned down and whispered into Flitwick's ear who in return got a shocked look on his face before turning to face us again.

"Students, I'll be back." Flitwick said before running out of the Great Hall.

"What's wrong Professor?" A third year Hufflepuff named Bonnie asked.

"It's nothing for you all to worry about. You all should really get back to your houses."

"But Professor Flitwick said he would be back…we haven't finished our rehearsal yet." I pointed out to the head of my house.

"I know Ms. Burby-Black, but I have a bad feeling he won't be returning." McGonagall spoke gravely. Just as she finished, we all heard a terrible scream come from somewhere in the castle. McGonagall took off with a bolt and disappeared before we even knew what had happened.

"This isn't good…" Michael said looking at me.

"Come on Michael," I grabbed his hand and took off out of the Great Hall. Once we enters the main entrance, we could hear the tell-tale sounds of a battle waging on upstairs. I pulled out my wand and Michael followed suit.

"What the hell is happening, Astrid?" Michael asked as he climbed the stairs.

"I don't know for sure, but I know Draco is behind it." We then heard a loud cackle and out of the corner of my eye I saw something in the sky through the window. I pulled Michael over to the window and saw that someone had cast the Dark Mark in the sky…Death Eaters were in the castle.

I could tell that whoever had cast it was over in the Astronomy Tower; I could feel my heart speed up as Michael and I bolted for the door and ran outside towards the Astronomy Tower. We were about halfway there when I saw a bright flash of green come from the top…someone had just cast the killing curse. We both stopped dead in our tracks and watched in horror as a body fell from the top of the tower. The body was wearing light colored robes, had silvery hair and a long beard….that was when it hit me like a ton of bricks. I fell to my knees on the ground in the courtyard. Everything was spinning yet was somehow in slow motion as I watched the body plummet to the ground. I swear it felt as if my heart was in my throat as it pounded loudly. I let out a guttural sob, buried my face in my hands and then felt my heart stop momentarily when a loud thud was heard as the body hit the ground.

_Albus Dumbledore was dead._


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: You are all going to hate me for what happens with Neville and Astrid in this one! Sorry, but good things come to those who wait...and there are some REALLY good things coming up soon! You might find Neville to be a little OOC in this one, but if you really think about it, I can almost see him making the same decision. Any who... here's part 8!

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><p><strong><em>Astrid's POV<em>**

Even though I wanted nothing more that to stay put in that courtyard, sobbing over the loss of Professor Dumbledore, I knew that I couldn't stay there much longer. Michael leaned down and threw his arm around me, pulling me up to stand next to him.

"Come on Astrid, you've got to pull yourself together…" Michael spoke softly to me. "We need to find out what's happening, it sounds like a full on battle is going on in the castle." Michael took my hand and together we began running back into the castle where there was indeed a full scale battle waging on. There were so many Death Eaters, and luckily the Order had shown up to help fight with the few students who had answered the message on the D.A. coins. I looked all around at the sight before me and immediately laid eyes on Fenrir Greyback who was hunched over another body, viciously attacking the poor person. I ran over towards Greyback and stunned him which made the cruel werewolf fly back and knock into a wall. I ran over to the body lying on the ground and saw that it was my cousin, Bill.

"No! Bill, can you hear me?" I put my hand on his chest and felt his heart faintly beating.

"Astrid, watch out!" I heard Michael yell, I looked behind me and saw that Greyback was a mere five feet away and was bearing down on me fast.

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing, just like your mother." He snarled; I grabbed my wand and pointed it at him, but he quickly disarmed me. "I don't think so puppet. You're mine now." He grabbed me by my neck and lifted me off the ground, my airways were tightly constricted and I was beginning to see black spots in my vision. Greyback leaned into me and was heading straight for my neck; I clamped my eyes shut, preparing to be bitten.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" I was instantly dropped to the ground and began gasping for air as the werewolf was stunned with a full body-binding curse. I looked around and saw it was Harry who had cast the spell and potentially saving my life. My throat was hurt too much at the moment from being strangled that all I could do was nod and smile my thanks at Harry who then took off after Snape and the other retreating Death Eaters.

"Astrid, are you okay?" Michael asked as he knelt down next to me, having just stunned another Death Eater.

"...Ye...ah." I managed to get out painfully. Michael helped me to my feet and we looked around noticing that the Death Eaters were retreating out of the castle and onto the grounds. We ran after them, but there was no way we could catch them. We froze in horror as Hagrid tried to stop them as well, only to have his hut set a blaze by Rowle. We then watched as Harry went after Snape, calling after him.

"Kill me! Just like you killed him!" Harry screamed, chasing after the man. "Come on you coward!"

"_DON'T CALL ME A COWARD!_" Snape yelled as he spun on his heels and blasted Harry back with a spell. The dark figure glided quickly over to Harry who was momentarily stunned on the ground and spoke nastily to him. Unfortunately we were too far away to hear the brief conversation. Just as quickly as the battle had started, it ended with Snape, Malfoy and the rest of the Death Eaters disapparated just outside of the Castle Gates.

I looked around and saw that everyone had moved out into the courtyard below the Astronomy Tower. I grabbed Michael with one hand and led us to the front of the crowd where I saw Dumbledore's body lying on the ground. Dumbledore's eyes were shut, and at first I had hoped he was only sleeping…but the peculiar angles his arms and legs were set at proved otherwise. Despite lying in an unnatural manner, Dumbledore looked rather peaceful. I stood there in shock looking at the man who to so many of us was a sort of grandfather figure, a major safety net here at Hogwarts. I felt someone grab my free hand and looked up to see it was a rather solemn looking Neville. I gave him a weak smile and stepped closer to him, leaning my head against his upper arm.

The entire crowd stood still for what felt like an eternity, gravely looking at the body of our former Headmaster. I stayed there, Michael holding one hand, Neville the other, my wand tucked into the waistband of my skirt as I let silent tears fall down my face, mixing with the rain. After a few more moments, the crowd parted next to us as Harry made his way over to Dumbledore's body. Harry knelt down next to Dumbledore and stared in disbelief for a few seconds. Harry then reached over and straightened the half-moon glasses on Dumbledore's nose before smoothing out his beard and placing a single hand on his chest, right over the heart, as if to confirm Dumbledore's death. Harry leaned over the body and began crying softly. Ginny slowly made her way over to Harry and embraced him, attempting to comfort the grief stricken boy.

I let go of Michael's hand and turned to Neville, wrapping my arms around his middle and burying my face into his chest. I felt him encircle me in his arms and hold me as I cried against him, soaking his sweater vest completely through. We stayed like this for a few moments before I felt him raise his wand arm; I pulled back and saw that him, Luna, McGonagall and Hermione had all raised their wands, the tips shining brightly as a tribute to Dumbledore. I remained leaning against Neville with one arm still wrapped around him as I pulled out my own wand out of the waistband of my skirt and pointed it straight up towards the sky. Eventually all the students in the courtyard had raised their wands; the sky was still cloudy and dark, but the light from everyone's wand had slowly sent away the Dark Mark.

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><p><strong><em>THIRD PERSON POV<em>**

Over the next few days it was impossible to find a smile at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The entire school was filled with grief as they mourned the death of their former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Even though the entire school, except for maybe a few Slytherin's, was depressed over the death of Dumbledore, it was hard to imagine anyone being more effect than Harry Potter and his closest friends. Astrid found it near impossible to eat and hardly slept without having to wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares. One the night after Dumbledore's death, a particularly nasty storm was over the castle. Astrid had just awoken from a horrible dream that involved being bitten by Fenrir Greyback while being forced to watch Dumbledore fall from the Astronomy Tower over and over again. Astrid was shivering in her bed as the dormitory lit up with flashes of lightning.

Astrid had always been afraid of lightning every since she was a little child; in her first year, she was so scared that she ran down to the common room where there was only a few tiny windows instead of the numerous large windows in her dormitory. When she had run down the stairs, she managed to collide head on with Neville Longbottom. From then on out, they would spend every stormy night in the common room together until around the end of their third year.

For some reason, this storm scared Astrid more than any other had in the past. Maybe it was because in her mind she would see Greyback lurking in the corner of her room when lightning would light up the room. After nearly ten minutes of lying awake in bed, Astrid jumped up, wrapped her dressing robe around herself and made her way downstairs. As she reached the bottom of the stairs and looked into the common room, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Neville sitting on the couch by the recently lit fireplace.

"Can't sleep either?" Astrid asked as she made her way over to the couch.

"Blimey Astrid, you scared the hell out of me." Neville exclaimed after nearly jumping out of his own skin. He looked up at the redhead and noticed how drained she looked; he patted on the couch next to him and she slowly sat down. "I still come down here whenever there's lightning." Neville said quietly while gazing into the fire.

"I haven't been down here since third year…" Astrid replied.

"I know, every time I come down I always hope you'll join me again. It's rather lonely down here."

"I had no idea Neville…I would have come down if I had known."

"Its fine, I've gotten used to being by myself."

"Don't say that Nev…you've always got me."

"Yeah, right…"

"And you've got Hannah now." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. "Neville, do you _love_ her?"

"…No, I don't. I don't even fancy her that much really."

"Then why are you dating her?" It took a while for Neville to find the right answer and build up the courage to say it aloud.

"Because I don't want to be alone." He said softly, "I was tired of always seeing everyone all matched up, it broke my heart to see you with Michael." The two were once again enveloped in a silence. Astrid had felt her own heart ache as Neville had told her why he was dating Hannah, how could she have been so blind?

"Neville, will you hold me?" Astrid asked timidly.

"Come here," Neville held out his arms and Astrid scooted over to him, nestling into his lap and curling up against him.

"Neville, do you love me?" Astrid asked after a few minutes. "Because I think I love you…" Astrid looked up and saw Neville was staring down at her. They sat there, just staring into each others eyes before Astrid leaned up and place a soft, yet loving kiss on Neville's lips. Neville slightly gasped at the contact between the two of them; this felt nothing like it did when he was kissing Hannah. There seemed to be an electrical spark between them, and though it was a rather quick kiss, it felt as if the world had stopped spinning and there was nothing but himself and Astrid. There was no Voldemort, Dumbledore wasn't dead and all was right in the world. As they pulled apart the world came tumbling back onto the pair and it felt as if their senses had been sharpened by the kiss. They were completely attuned to one another. As much as Neville loved Astrid and wanted to be with her, he knew he would forever hate himself for what he was about to do.

"I can't do this Astrid." Both Astrid and Neville's heart shattered as soon as the words left Neville's mouth. "I can't hurt Hannah like this." Neville brushed Astrid off his lap and stood up.

"…but you don't even like her Neville!" Astrid countered, standing up in front of Neville.

"I know, but she loves me and I can't do this to her...she's already depressed by her mothers death, this would kill her. I'm sorry Astrid, but you're just too late." Neville turned off his emotions and made his way back to his dormitory. Astrid stood there for an eternity, looking into the stairwell where Neville had just disappeared before she slumped down onto the couch where she and Neville had just shared their first kiss and began to sob.

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><p><strong><em>ASTRID'S POV<em>**

It was now the very beginning of July and I hadn't spoken or ever looked at Neville since the night I kissed him and he had turned me down. I didn't have the guts to face him; I knew it was my fault for not realizing how I felt about him sooner, and now I had to live with the consequence…but it still didn't seem fair. Of course Neville just had to be the amazingly considerate guy I love and felt it was more honorable to stay with Hannah than to break her heart and be with me. I didn't quite understand it, and I thought it was kind of mean to Hannah since Neville really wasn't in love with her; however I kept my thoughts to myself and Hermione, who swore not to tell anyone, not even Ron and Harry.

Since Dumbledore's tragic death, the entire school year seemed to come to a halt. Teachers no long held class and it was as if the whole school was in a standstill, not really sure what to do next. Dumbledore's funeral was to be in a few days and there was talk about sending the students home before the funeral, but both me and Harry felt it was wrong to do so.

"I really think there's no point in having the students here, it's not as if we're going to have classes now." McGonagall spoke. Harry and I were talking with several professors, including McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Hagrid.

"I agree with you, the students should go home and mourn with their families." Flitwick said.

"You should at least wait until after his funeral to send us all home." I suggested.

"Yeah, she's right." Harry spoke up, "The students should be here for the funeral, so they can have a sense of closure…"

"And to say goodbye to Dumbledore." Sprout piped up.

"It wouldn't be right to send them home before the funeral, Professor McGonagall."

"I suppose your right…" McGonagall sighed in agreement. "They'll stay for the funeral, and then the train will take them home the day after."

Just like that it was all decided and soon it was the day of Dumbledore's funeral. People of all sorts came from all over the world to be at Hogwarts for Dumbledore's funeral. I had just finished dressing in a simple black dress with lace tights and gloves before I grabbed a black hat and slipped on a pair of black Oxford's. The other girls in my dormitory were also busy getting dressed for the funeral that would start in about an hour. I looked around and didn't see Hermione, so I went down to the common room where I saw her sitting with Ron and Harry. I went over to them and sat down next to Harry, wrapping a supportive arm around him.

"I can't believe he's gone…" Ron said sadly.

"I know; it seems so surreal." Hermione agreed.

"It all happened so fast. One moment Dumbledore cast a body bind on me and then next thing I know Snape's killed him." Harry said.

"It's so hard to believe someone can have their life taken from them so suddenly." I said while shaking my head.

"If only he hadn't cast that spell on me…I would have been able to fend Snape off and Dumbledore would be alive!" Harry said angrily.

"Or you could both be dead…Dumbledore cast that spell to save you, Harry. Don't blame yourself over his death; he wouldn't want you to do that." I spoke to my friend. "Dumbledore would want you to continue on and finish what he started, what you both worked on that night." Harry had told Ron, Hermione and I about their mission at the cave to find a Horcrux that ended up being a fake…switched by a person known as R.A.B.

"You're right Astrid…but it's hard not to blame myself."

"I know Harry, we all understand and we know it's not your fault at all. No one blames you, Harry." I told him. We all sat in silence for a little while before Hermione stood up.

"We should probably head down so we won't be late for the ceremony." Hermione said, we all stood and made our way out of Gryffindor tower and onto the grounds near the lake where the ceremony would be held. Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron and I all filed in and sat down at the end of a row, right next to the lake. I looked over to the lake and saw the merpeople coming to the surface for the funeral; just past the lake I also noticed a line of centaurs gathered at the edge of the forest, half hidden in shadow. I didn't recognize most of the people in attendance, but I was glad to see that my cousin Bill was well enough to leave the Hospital Wing and attend the funeral. He glanced over at me and smiled sadly before returning his gaze to Fleur who was holding his hand in her lap.

I continued to look around and saw Percy, the Minister, and several other people I recognized from the Ministry all seated in the front row. A few rows behind mine I connected eyes with Aunt Molly who had blood-shot eyes from crying so much. I also saw several students including Neville and Hannah who were sitting by each other, holding hands. Once I was done people watching, Hagrid slowly made his was down the aisle, carrying Dumbledore's body which had been wrapped in purple velvet that had gold stars all over it. Hagrid was crying loudly as he walked forwards and let out a great sob as he placed Dumbledore onto the white marble table that stood at the front of the gathering. Next, a small ceremony official walked up in front of the crowd and delivered the eulogy. I leaned into Hermione and we held each other, crying our eyes out silently as the man spoke about the life of Dumbledore and the effect he had on so many people.

Once the man finished, he returned to his seat and the table Dumbledore's body was on caught fire as Fawkes flew by, singing out his lament. The merpeople in the lake began to sing a slow mourning song as the flames grew to the brink. Once the flames slowing grew smaller, it was revealed that a white tomb was now in place where the table had been. The centaurs, including Firenze, who had been standing at the Forbidden Forest's edge raised their bows and shot off arrows in tribute to Dumbledore. Once the fire was extinguished, people began to rise and file our slowly. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I were among the last to leave. We all walked towards his tomb and Harry and I both placed our hands on top of the tomb to say goodbye to Dumbledore. We then turned and left our beloved headmaster in peace at his final resting place.

* * *

><p>It was the day after Dumbledore's funeral and we were all aboard the Hogwarts Express, heading to King's Cross Station. The whole train was fairly quiet; the only noise being that of idle conversation. I was sitting in a compartment with Harry, Ron and Hermione and we had yet to speak throughout the entire ride. The silence was a comfortable one though, as no one felt the need to really disrupt the peacefulness.<p>

"I'm not coming back next year…" Harry spoke, breaking the more than hour long silence.

"What do you mean? Why not?" I asked.

"The horcruxes…I need to finish what Dumbledore started and continue to find them all then destroy them. It's the only hope we have of defeating Voldemort. I don't know where it will take me, but I'll find a way to let you all know that I'm safe."

"I've always admired your courage, Harry..." Hermione spoke, "but you really are daft sometimes. You don't actually think you can find all those horcruxes by yourself, do you? You need us Harry."

"She's right bloke." Ron replied smiling halfway.

"I know." Harry said, "She always is."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! I LOVE reading them, its a bit sad how giddy I get reading them. Here's part 9! OH! Personally I'm a very visual person, so check out my profile for links to outfits, character photos for my OC's and such. Read and Review!

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><p><strong><em>Astrid's POV<em>**

Once we had returned from Hogwarts, Harry went back to living with the Dursley's, Hermione returned to her parents, Ron went to the Burrow and I joined my father at our house next to the Grangers. Hermione and I only spent a week or so at home before we knew we needed to relocate to a safe-house. After much deliberation, Hermione decided it was best to modify her parent's memory by erasing her existence from their lives and sending them off to Australia each with a new alias. I knew it was a very difficult thing for Hermione to do; my father and I comforted her after she had sent off her parents and came to stay with us a few days before leaving for the Burrow. It's amazing the type of strength you're forced to develop when in such horrible, dark times.

Hermione had been stealthily in contact with both Harry and Ron to discuss and prepare for their search of the Horcruxes. They had asked me to join them in their search, but I declined. I had really considered it, but I knew that someone had to stay at Hogwarts and keep an eye on Snape, who had been named the new Headmaster. I had a feeling that the younger students would need protection at school since Death Eaters were now in employ as teachers. Also, I felt that Harry, Ron and Hermione would have better luck with only three people as it would be easier to hide and move from place to place with only three instead of four.

Today however, we were leaving for the Burrow, where we would spend the rest of our summer holiday. I was sitting on my neatly made up bed and was looking around my room that I had grown up in. The walls were painted a soft aqua and were covered in a plethora of bewitched photos. I had thought about taking them all, but decided to only take a couple instead. It was nearly impossible to choose because they all meant so much to me. As I studied them all, I noticed that Neville was in a majority of them…waving and smiling back at me. It made my heart sink when I thought about him, I still hadn't seen him since school was let out. I wrote him nearly every day; apologizing and telling him how much I missed and loved him, but I had yet to receive a single reply…he probably didn't even read the bloody letters…the stupid prat. I shook my head of the negative thoughts and stood from my bed, walking over to the array of photos.

The first photo I chose was a family portrait that was taken a day or so after I was born. My mother was holding both me and my sister in her arms and my father was standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Little Lucille and I were cooing and gazing up at our mother…I really missed them both, even though I had no memories of them. The next photo I packed into my bag was one of my mother and Sirius…it was a photo Sirius had given me for my fifteenth birthday, shortly before he was killed. The two lovebirds were still at Hogwarts in their last year and were goofing around, dancing in the middle of a courtyard at Hogwarts. It perfectly captured the two and their love. I then grabbed a photo of me, Sirius, Harry, Hermione and Ron. It was taken during the summer before our fifth year when we were all at 12 Grimmauld Place. We looked so happy; we were so naïve back then and had no idea how tragic the next few years would be for all of us.

The last picture I decided to take was one of me and Neville. It was taken during the Yule Ball in our fourth year; it was my fondest memory and what I used to produce a Patronus. I was dressed in a crème colored strapless gown. I remember that I felt like a princess in that gown, especially when I would spin while dancing and the dress woudl float out around me, swishing with grace. Everyone was dressed up so nicely and everything was positively beautiful. The night was full of fun and romance. In the photo, Neville and I would dance for awhile before stopping to wave at the camera, still holding hands. We were one of the last couples on the dance floor and Ginny had taken the photo for us. As I studied our faces, I could tell that dancing was one of the few places Neville looked perfectly confident. He wasn't tripping over his own feet or stepping on mine, he led us gracefully around the dance floor, my dress sweeping and flowing dramatically. I believe it's safe to say that this was one of the best nights of both of our lives. I put the photo into my bag then gave my room a last once over before heading down the stairs to join my father and Hermione in the living room.

"You ready then, Astrid?" My father asked.

"Yeah, I've got everything I need." I replied smiling sadly, this was probably the last time I would set foot in our home for a long time. I could only hope and pray that Death Eaters wouldn't destroy it while trying to track down my father or Hermione's parents. We each made our way into the fireplace separately and used Floo powder to travel to the Burrow. Green flames surrounded me and then died down as I stepped through the fireplace to see Aunt Molly waiting next to Hermione and Ron who were hugging each other.

"Astrid dear, so good to see you!" Molly called out as I walked up to her and gave her a warm hug.

"How have you been Aunt Molly? I haven't seen you since the funeral."

"I've been better, but planning this wedding has helped keep my mind off all the bad things." Molly answered honestly. I looked back at the fireplace and saw my father step through with the rest of our things. My father was going to be staying at the Burrow with all of us until I returned to school where he would be moving into different safe-house with other members of the Order.

"Ah, Hello Molly. It's so good to see you." My father said as he walked forwards to hug Aunt Molly.

"It's great to see you too, David." Molly spoke smiling, "You're all just in time for lunch, and I've just set the table…come along." We all followed Aunt Molly into the dining room where the rest of the Weasley family was already seated. Once we managed to all squeeze in around the dining table, Molly began serving the food and we all ate while keeping up a casual conversation.

"So how's the wedding planning been going?" My father asked the family.

"It 'as been going very well." Fleur's English had drastically improved, but she still had a bit of an accent. "Although I am beginning to stress a little…" We continued to chat during our meal and once we finished, Hermione, Ron and I all went upstairs to Ron's room.

"So how have you two been?" Ron asked as we settle down onto the floor by his bed.

"Okay I guess…I haven't really done much but sit around at home, my dad wouldn't let me out of the house." I replied.

"I know how you feel, mums been real mental this summer. Nearly blew a gasket when I told her I wasn't going back to school…and she's been digging to find out what we're all up to." Ron said. "What about you Hermione? You've been quiet tonight."

"It's my parents…I modified their memories and sent them away a few days ago…it really hurts, especially when I see you all with your families." Hermione confessed as she began crying hard. "I didn't think it would be this difficult."

"Blimey Hermione…"Ron said before hugging her tightly.

"Well...I know it's difficult to believe in it, but on the bright side, at least you know their safe and won't be right in the middle of all the fighting." I tried to cheer my best friend up. This whole situation was taking a toll on us and Hermione's breakdown was a prime example of what it was doing to all of us.

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><p>Over the next month or so, I spent my days helping the Weasley's and Fleur plan for the approaching nuptials. As the summer progressed, Hermione, Ron and I found ourselves working to the point of exhaustion; cleaning up the Burrow, replacing rotten wood on the house, ridding the garden of pesky gnomes and scrubbing every inch of the family silver and china until it shined brightly and you could see your own reflection. It was a very tiring summer but it did wonders to get our minds off the upcoming months and the terrifying events that were sure to take place. However, when I did have some free time I would always sit down and write to Neville; sometimes it was a letter several paragraphs long and other times it was a mere sentence or two…he never wrote back though.<p>

In the early part of July, my father and I attended Lupin and Tonks secretive wedding ceremony. Since both my "dads", David and Sirius, had been such good friends with Remus, he and Tonks felt it was only right for us to be some of the very few witnesses at the wedding. It was a small occasion but was so beautiful and emotion filled that I couldn't help but tear up a bit as the two soul mates exchanged vows. I wish Harry could have attended, but there was no way we could risk his safety like that. Plus, with the new anti-werewolf status of the Ministry, we didn't dare chance having anyone uninvited show up to ruin the ceremony by looking for Harry.

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><p>On the evening of the 27th of July, a few days before Harry's 17th birthday, I found myself standing in the Dursley's living room with Hermione, Ron, Harry and several members of the Order, including my father, Mad-eye Moody, Bill, Hagrid, Remus and Tonks.<p>

"I believe you're familiar with this brew, Potter." Moody said while pulling out his flask.

"No, absolutely not." Harry immediately spoke up.

"Told you he'd take it well…" Hermione said sarcastically.

"I won't let you all risk your lives for me."

"Like we haven't already…" Ron pointed out.

"Yes, but this is different. This is too dangerous, I won't let you."

"Look, I understand that you're trying to be noble Potter, but you've really got no say in the matter. All the wizards here are of legal age and they've already agreed to it." Moody said. "Line up you lot." On his command, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Mundungus, Fleur and I all lined up in front of Moody. "Fair warning to those of you who haven't taken the potion before, it tastes like goblin piss." He walked over to Fred, handing him the flask.

"Got loads of experience with that have you, Moody?" Fred joked as he took the flask, Moody did not look amused however. "Just trying to defuse the tension is all." Fred took a drink and passed on the flask to his twin before he shrunk down to Harry's height and began to slowly transform before our eyes. The flask made its way down the line and eventually I was holding it. I pinched my noise and swallowed the rest of the potion. Moody was right, it tasted exactly how I imagined Goblin piss would. I scrunched up my face and immediately felt the bones in my body popping and stretching as I grew a few inches to be at Harry's height; I could feel my face changed shape, my vision went blurry and suddenly I was very aware at how tight my jeans were now…especially in the groin region. It felt bloody bizarre to have a penis, there is no way in hell I would ever trade in my womanly bits for a penis…it's much too strange to feel something hanging from you!

I managed to push the thought from my head and all of us new "Potters" got changed into matching outfits. It was quite strange to look down at my body and see Harry's instead. I also felt sort of bad for Harry since everyone was getting a clear view of his body. Once we had all quickly finished dressing into the matching clothes, Mad-Eye moved back to the front of the group and got our attention again.

"Alright Potters, pair up with your protectors." I walked over and stood by my father who would be flying us to our old house on a Thestral. "Potter…the real one, you'll be with Hagrid and will be heading to Ted Tonks house. Now let's all get ready." We all followed Moody out into the street where we all settled on the various brooms, Thestrals and the flying motorbike. It was eerily calm out, and even though I couldn't see anyone else, I knew we were being closely watched. "All ready?" Everyone nodded in unison. "All together then, one…two…THREE!" We all lifted up into the sky, and the moment we were above the houses on Privet Drive, there were several loud cracks heard as Death Eaters apparated on brooms all around us. I aimed my wand, as did my father, and we began duel with the two Death Eaters that began to tail us closely. I narrowly dodged a jinx before stunning the Death Eater and causing him to fall from his broom just as my father cursed the broom of the other Death Eater, causing it to buck wildly.

Suddenly every single Death Eater and Voldemort himself all headed straight for Hagrid and the real Harry. Something had given him away and the Death Eaters were hot in pursuit. Myself and some of the other Potters were able to curse and stun a few of the Death Eaters before we were all too far from Harry and Hagrid, having flown off in separate directions towards our various destinations. In a few excruciatingly long minutes my father and I reached our old house. We hopped off of the Thestral who flew away, back to Hogwarts, and we quickly sprinted to the grubby looking hand mirror which was our portkey that instantly transported us into the swamp surrounding the Burrow. We landed with a splash, somehow during the transport with the portkey I had severely injured my leg; I attempted to stand but fell back down, a fiery pain shooting up my body. My father saw the unnatural angle of my leg and quickly loaded me into his arms, sprinting for the Burrow so we would be inside the safe zone.

As we entered the yard behind the Burrow, I somehow managed to notice several of the Potters and the protectors entering the safe zone while I was still in severe pain; all the Potters, myself included, we close to being back to themselves again. I shut my eyes tight and winced at the horrible pain that seemed to be multiplying as my body's bones reformed back to my own self; but it seemed my body was having difficulty doing so because of my hurt leg. I looked at my injured leg and immediately regretted it, shutting my eyes tight and forcing myself to swallow back the bile that was on its way up my throat. My leg was completely twisted and gnarled looking somehow; the pair of pants I was wearing were stained dark red with my blood but I still managed to see that my tibia had gone through the skin and was poking out of the ripped jeans. With my eyes still shut, I could tell we were moving fast as my father took me into the house.

"What's happened to Astrid?" I could hear Ginny call from outside. I then felt myself being place on something soft, one of the couches in the living room I assumed. Right as my father stepped away I heard someone scream, it was Aunt Molly.

"Astrid! Oh dear, what happened?"

"Something with the portkey, she must not have had a firm enough grasp when we were transported." My father spoke frantically.

"Make way!" I heard Remus call out, "George was hit with a nasty curse." I heard shuffling and opened my eyes briefly to see a bloodied up George lay down on the other couch across from mine.

"Oh George…" Molly whispered, inspecting the wound on his head.

"Blimey Astrid…you look worse off than I do." George managed to make out, weakly smiling at me. I tried to smile back but instantly regretted it as I felt another wave of nausea hit me, forcing me to shut my eyes again.

"Here, I'll take care of him Molly; you tend to Astrid…she needs a better healer than George does." Remus said and I heard footsteps approach as Molly came back over to me.

"Astrid…how are you feeling?" Molly asked.

"Like I'm going to vomit…it hurts…so bad auntie…" I somehow managed to groan out, unfortunately talking was not a good idea at the moment and I began to lean towards the edge of the couch.

"Grab that bin!" Molly called out, I heard rapid movement and just as I had my head leaning over the couch, I felt someone pull back my hair and could feel the presence of the trash bin below me. I instantly opened my mouth and emptied the entire contents of my stomach into the bin. It suddenly got louder as more people entered the house.

"Where are Moody and Mundungus?" Remus asked the new comers.

"Mundungus got scared and apparated" I heard Bill inform us all. "…Voldemort killed Moody." There was an instant feeling of sadness that enveloped the entire room. It was too much for me to handle to think about Voldemort taking another life away from us and I leaned back to the bin and vomited a second time.

"This is exactly why I didn't want any of you to do this…" Harry exclaimed.

"Oh shut it Harry…" I groaned before vomiting a third time.

"Astrid!" I heard Hermione yelled and then felt her kneel next to me and grab my hand in hers.

"Bloody hell…what happened to Astrid and George?" Ron asked.

"Problems with the portkey transport…" My father explained. "And George was cursed by Snape."

"It's okay you lot…I feel a lot closer to God now that I'm holy…geddit? I'm **holey**!" George managed to joke even when he was bleeding profusely from the head.

"Really George, of all the ear jokes in the world…you choose that one?" Fred laughed at his twin.

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><p>It was finally the day of Bill and Fleur's wedding and the Burrow was animated with all sorts of activity and characters. Molly had done her best at healing me, but I still had to wear a cast and use crutches to walk. It was quite embarrassing to use them in front of others, but I luckily was able to be rid of them two days ago, making perfect timing for the wedding. Unfortunately, even though I was no longer in pain, my ankle was still a little weak so I had to bind it tightly with the use of a magically medicated cloth. I was currently sitting on Ginny's bed, completely alone in her room. I was already dressed and fixed up for the wedding but had decided to stay upstairs until the ceremony was about to begin. I looked around Ginny's room where Hermione and I had been staying for the entire summer. I picked up my battered copy of <em>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe<em>, opening it up and pulling out a small piece of folded parchment. It was rather beaten from me reading it over and over a thousand times since I first received it about two weeks ago. I unfolded the piece of parchment and read the messy handwriting of Neville Longbottom.

_**I miss you too.**_

They were four simple words, but they meant the world to me. I hadn't written him back since because, well...I didn't exactly know what to say. I was particularly anxious this time when I read the words over and over again because Neville would be at the wedding today with his grandmother. Just the thought of seeing him made me lightheaded and nauseous. I had no clue how our encounter would go…would we even look at each other?

"Astrid?" Ginny called my attention as she stepped through the doorway and into her room. "We're about ready to start." I smiled at my cousin and stood up, placing the brief letter back into my book and smoothing out my dress before joining Ginny in the living room where the rest of the family was gathered. A sweet classical tune began to play and I followed my cousins into the tent before sitting down in the second row, next to Hermione, Ron and a disguised Harry. As Bill and the groomsmen followed by the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle, I looked around at the people sitting in the crowd. I instantly found Neville, we locked eyes for a moment and he gave me a small smile before I broke the gaze, turning in my seat to face the front. Next, everyone rose in their seats and watched as the radiant look Fleur made her way gracefully down the aisle. Fleur was absolutely breathtaking in her simple yet stunning white gown and Auntie Muriel's tiara.

The ceremony was beautiful and before I knew it, I was overcome with emotion and both me and Hermione were leaning against each other, crying happy tears. The joining of two souls in holy matrimony was always a beautiful and emotional event, and this wedding was no exception. Once the ceremony had concluded and Bill and Fleur were finally wed, the chairs all disappeared magically as everyone rose to cheer for the happy couple. Bill and Fleur made their way to the dance floor and shared their first dance as a married couple in the beautifully decorated tent. Slowly people began joining the couple and started to dance as well. I grabbed Fred by the arm and pulled him out to the dance floor once a faster paced song started up. We laughed happily as we danced a jig around the floor together, having a blast. We danced like this for a few more songs until a slow one came on. We parted and I made my way to stand on the side of the dance floor, watching all the happy couples dance.

"Can I have this dance?" I heard from directly behind me, I turned and saw Neville standing there shying looking down.

"Of course…" I replied, Neville took my hand in his and we made our way onto the dance floor. Neville then wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him, I could feel the heat from his body radiate against my own. We danced slowly, spinning in circles every now and then. We were silent for a while before I built the courage to speak up.

"I got you letter."I said softly.

"I meant to write sooner…but I didn't know what to say." He replied, still looking down. We had yet to meet eyes. "How was your summer?"

"Busy. Yours?"

"Boring…and lonely." He said, "Hannah and I broke up."

"Why?"

"She spent a lot of time with Ernie…" He sighed before continuing. "She cheated on me."

"I'm so sorry Nev…"

"It's fine…I just didn't think it would hurt as bad as it did." He said truthfully. He finally looked at me and into my own eyes with his. I instantly lost my self in his enchanting gaze...but before we knew it, the song had finished and we moved from the dance floor to stand to the side.

"Neville, there you are! Where have you been, boy?" I looked up and saw an elaborately dressed elderly woman approaching; I knew this was Augusta Longbottom right away.

"I was just dancing with Astrid, gran."

"Go get me some punch, boy, I'm parched." Neville's grandmother said while giving me a hard look. Neville took off and Augusta stepped closer to me, giving me the once over. "So you're Astrid…Sirius and Cordelia's daughter...Humph."

"Yes ma'am…it's nice to meet you." I offered my hand for her to shake, but she ignored it.

"My Neville has told me loads about you." I gulped suddenly and got really nervous. "He must have read each of your letters a hundred times. He saved them all you know." My heart fluttered at the news. "It seems Neville is in love with you, girl…and I'm glad to notice he's picked the right one." I was shocked by her sudden confession…this woman approved of me?

"Here gran," Spoke a nervous Neville as he handed her a cup before giving me one as well. "I got one for you too Astrid."

"I'll leave you two alone then." Just as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished into the crowd to socialize with the other guests.

"What did she say?" Neville asked slightly panicked. "She wasn't too mean was she?" I smirked up at him before replying.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Longbottom." Just then the tent darkened suddenly and a bright Patronus in the form of a Lynx bounded into the tent before Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice came booming from the Patronus.

"_The Ministry has fallen. __Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."_

The Patronus vanished and there was a moment of silence and disbelief before chaos erupted throughout the tent. People instantly started screaming, the more experienced wizards apparated while parents frantically struggled to find their children and get them to safety. I looked at Neville in horror before we were ripped apart by the crazed crowd. I saw Harry, Ron and Hermione to my left and bolted for them.

"You need to leave! Now!"

"Come with us Astrid!" Hermione begged but I shook my head.

"You know I can't Hermione, it's too dangerous for all four of us to go. Plus, I need to keep watch over the school." Hermione looked upset with my answer, but knew I was right. She stood still for a second before tightly hugging me with all her might.

"Keep safe, Astrid." Hermione barely managed to speak out through her tears; seeing my lifelong best friend crying tore my heart and tears instantly fell from my own eyes. Hermione pulled back and I went on to hug Ron and Harry quickly as well.

"We'll do our best to let you know we're safe…I promise." Harry said to me as we pulled apart. The trio smiled at me one last time and all grasped hands before disapparating before my very eyes. I prayed silently to myself that this wouldn't be the last time I saw my best friends alive.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Here's part 10, please remember to review!

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><p><em><strong>Astrid's POV<strong>_

After Ginny and I made our way through the entrance of platform 9 ¾, we looked around and saw that the platform was far less crowded than either of us had ever seen it before. Usually at this time, mere minutes before the train would leave, the station would be bustling with noise and activity. I knew that there wouldn't be any Muggle-born students because they would no longer be permitted to attend; but I guess I never realized how many Muggle-borns were at Hogwarts. Also, I knew of several half-blood students that wouldn't be returning either, due to the fear of all the interrogations of "magical blood quality".

On the night of Bill and Fleur's wedding, Death Eaters began apparating literally the second after Harry, Ron and Hermione had disapparated. Many of the guests had already fled, but those who stayed behind, mainly the Weasley family, myself, my father and the other members of the Order were interrogated intensively be the Death Eaters, but luckily no one was seriously injured. The next month was spent solely at the Burrow, Ginny and I didn't leave the house at all until yesterday when we visited a rundown and sparse Diagon Alley. Uncle Arthur still went to work at the Ministry but soon got word that the entire family was being watched by the Death Eater ruled Ministry; because of the roaming Death Eaters and the lack of safety, Ginny and I had been dropped off at the front entrance of King's Cross Station by a "ready for battle" Bill.

Ginny and I looked at each in surprise at the state of the platform; I could tell it also worried her that there were so many people missing. We latched onto each others free hand and made our way onto the scarlet Hogwarts Express just in time before it slowly began moving forwards out of the station. We stowed our trunks in a front storage area and quickly walked down the train's aisle, looking for a friendly face. Once we reached the back of the train, we saw Neville in one of the larger compartments. There were four booths in the entire compartment, two on either side of the aisle. I saw Seamus, Parvati, Padma and Lavender in one of the booths up front; across the hall sat Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan, snuggling into each other while talking to their fellow Hufflepuff Susan Bones. Neville however was in one of the back tables by himself; Ginny and I made our way over to Neville's booth where I sat next to him and Ginny sat across from us.

"Astrid…I thought you wouldn't be here." Neville confessed once we sat down. I smiled and hugged him, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I figured someone had to come back and make sure you didn't do anything stupid." I joked, Neville however was not pleased.

"No Astrid, you shouldn't be here…it's too dangerous for you, they know you're friends with Harry." Neville said seriously.

"So what should I do? Stay home and just have them hunt me down instead, you know it's mandatory for everyone but Muggle-born to attend Hogwarts this year." I pointed out. "I've examined every option Neville; this is the best one I've got."

"I guess you right…" He sighed after some time, "I just don't want anything to happen to you, Astrid. It would kill me." I smiled at him and grabbed his hand underneath the table, placing it on my lap. The three of us all talked on the long train ride, it was odd how melancholy the entire train was…usually everyone was excited and rambunctious on the train, ready to start the new school year. When we were nearly at Hogsmeade station, we all felt the train slow down and stop suddenly. It was eerily silent throughout the entire train and we could see Death Eaters apparating outside. We sat in silence for a few moments until two Death Eaters, Travers and Avery, came up the train's aisle and into our compartment...It was obvious who they were looking for.

"Hey losers," Neville said, gaining their attention. "...he isn't here." Neville shocked me by standing up and confronting the two Death Eaters. They sneered at him and the rest of us in the compartment before getting off the train and disapparating just as quickly as they had appeared.

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><p>It was only the beginning of November, but this year at Hogwarts was by far the worst. It was multiple times more miserable than fifth year and I though nothing could be worse than Umbridge and her tyranny. How very mistaken and naïve I was… Muggle studies was now taught by the Death Eater Alecto Carrow while Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught her vile brother, Amycus Carrow. Muggle Studies had basically turned into an anti mugglemuggle-born class that was all about Pureblood supremacy and how we needed to clean out the "disgusting muggle blood" that polluted our world by infecting wizards and witches. Defense Against the Dark Art had virtually much turned into a Dark Arts class where we would be forced to either use horrible curses on others or have them used on us.

During one night in the middle of October, Ginny, Luna, Neville and I sneaked into Snape's Headmaster office to steal the Sword of Gryffindor. Ginny and I knew that Dumbledore had left it to Harry in his will, but the ministry had refused to hand it over because it wasn't the property of Dumbledore. We both knew there was a big reason as to why Dumbledore wanted Harry to have the sword, and I knew it had to do with the Horcruxes. We had managed to find the sword and were on our way out of the office and to our common rooms when Snape caught us red handed with the sword. We were so scared he would give us some horrid punishment, like detention with the Carrows...but instead he only gave us a weeks worth of detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest, it was a walk in the park compared to what we were expecting.

After another few weeks on abuse at the hands of the Carrows, Neville, Luna, Ginny and I had decided to started up Dumbledore's Army again in rebellion to the two Death Eaters that we so cruelly treating us and the other students at Hogwarts. Whenever we weren't busy with school or watching our own backs, we would help other students escape from the torturous beating the Carrows called "detention".

"Come on now...I know it hurts but you've got to run faster!" I whispered to the injured first year that Michael and I had just freed. The Carrows had the poor child chained up in the dungeons for a whole week before we were able to find him and help him escape. We were running up the stairs, out of the dungeons when we heard a scream followed by thundering footsteps coming up behind us.

"Where are you? You wicked little children!" We heard Alecto bellow from below us.

"You two go on, I'll hold her off." Michael said stopping on the stairs.

"No Michael, they'll torture you!" I argued.

"Better me than all three of us, now get!" Michael pushed me and the first year and we both turned back up the stairs and sprinted up, finally finding safety in the Gryffindor common room. After I helped the first year clean himself up and bandage his wounds, I went up to the boy's dormitory where Neville was napping on his bed. He was the only person in the room, and even though I knew I needed to wake him up, he looked far too peaceful to disturb. I sat at the foot of his bed, careful not to sit on his legs, and as creepy as it sounds, I just watched him. The past two months had been strenuous and damaging to all of us, but it wasn't until now when I was able to really take in all of Neville's injuries. His bottom lip was beginning to slowly heal from being split, he had a bruise on his forehead and several scratches littered his face, neck and hands. I know I was just as roughed up as Neville, but I couldn't help but wish I could take all the beatings instead of him.

Over the past two months, Neville and I had healed our slightly damaged relationship. We weren't dating and we hadn't even done anything except for holding hands…but it was nice to have an emotional connection with him again. I stood up and walked over next to the head of his bed and brushed back some hair that had fallen into his face. Tracing my hand down the side of his face and neck, I then gently shook his shoulder to wake him.

"Wake up Nev," I said softly to him; he groaned in his sleep a little before rolling over to face me and opened his eyes.

"Hey you…" He must have then seen the concern on my face. "What's happened?" He asked sitting up in bed.

"Michael and I helped that first year escape, but Michael was captured by Alecto. I'm scared Neville, what if they really hurt him this time? Or even kill him…" I felt my eyes begin to water. Neville wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against him.

"It's alright Astrid, he's a strong bloke. If he's not back by tomorrow night, we'll go after him. I promise." Neville kissed my cheek softly before resting his head on my shoulder. "Come on, we better head down for dinner so we don't miss it again, you've already lost enough weight."

Neville took my hand in his and led us down to the Great Hall where we sat at the Gryffindor table next to our fellow battered housemates. We sat across from Lavender, Parvati, Seamus and Ginny. We sat there talking for a few minutes before the food magically appeared on the tables…although calling it food was quite a stretch. In the two months we'd been back at Hogwarts, I had already lost ten pounds. It wasn't a big deal at the moment as I wasn't an ultra skinny girl who needed every pound I had, but I could see my stomach was completely flat and I was losing my curves that had always made me feel so feminine. Neville had taken notice right away about my weight loss and would often get angry over it…I think he really missed all my once "voluptuous" curves.

I looked down and groaned as I saw that it was "gruel" night once again. Drastic changes had been made to meal time's at Hogwarts; there was a certain window to eat and if you weren't sitting at the table by the designated time, you wouldn't get any food. Each meal had a specific amount of time to eat before the food vanished again; breakfast was a mere five minutes, and both lunch and dinner were a mere ten minutes. You would be amazed at how difficult it is to down a decent amount of gruel in only ten minutes. Once our ten minutes was up, everyone stood up and began filing out of the Great Hall that was now rather drab and had more of a prison feeling about it. Neville and I stayed back from the main group of Gryffindor students and were some of the last to make it out into the hallways. We took our time walking back up towards the common room, holding hands as we looked around at the partially deserted halls. Right as we walked by a stairwell, we heard several screams followed by cruel laughter; it sounded like someone was casting spells at another person, causing them a great deal of pain. Neville and I quickly went into the secluded stairwell and climbed to the top where we saw two bulky looking Slytherin's using the Cruciatus curse on a smaller Hufflepuff student.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at the two oafs; they merely sneered at me and Neville before returning to their torture. "Stop it you stupid assholes! _P__etrificus Totalus_!" I stunned the smaller of the two; the painful curse he had been casting was lifted and the poor Hufflepuff ran as fast as lightning to get to the safety of his common room.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" I heard Alecto screech out behind us.

"We were just practicing some of the new material we learned, and these two decided to curse John." Spoke the great big oaf.

"They were using the Cruciatus curse on a first year! It was cruel and I tried to stop-"

"Shut it...stupid blood traitor!" Alecto flicked her wand and a conjured whip lashed out, gripping me by my neck and throwing me to the ground. Neville raised his wand, but the conscious Slytherin disarmed him and grabbed hold of Neville. "You are just like your blood traitor father…Sirius Black's little brat. Time someone taught you some manners, you little bitch." Alecto kicked me in the stomach, causing me to curl up on my side. Alecto flicked her wand again and this time I could feel invisible claws ripping through the skin on my back, warm blood instantly seeped through my clothes and onto the floor. Alecto kicked me again, this time in my back, right at my spin. My body began to spasm uncontrollably in pain as I slipped around on the floor in my own blood. I don't know where he found this sudden burst of strength, but through the very edge of my vision, I saw Neville punch the Slytherin square in the face, knocking him out cold. Before Alecto knew what was happening, Neville had grabbed his own wand, stunned the old hag and she was now out cold on the floor as well. I felt the whip dissolve as Alecto hit the floor and I took in a deep breath of air I had been robbed of. Neville grabbed my wand off the floor and ran over to kneel next to me.

"Oh Astrid, you're bleeding everywhere…"Neville said softly, handing me my wand. We both froze as we heard a groan and looked over to see both Alecto and the two Slytherin boys slowly come to. Neville threw his arm around me and hoisted me up next to him. "Come on Astrid!" I ground my teeth together in pain and we took off up the stairs.

"Where the hell did they go?" We heard Alecto scream. "Don't just stand there, get'em!" We then heard them all take off running; they were gaining on us quickly. Right as they were about to see us, I pulled Neville through a small door that must have been a broom closet of sorts. I shut the door behind us, held my breath, closed my eyes and listened as I heard them run past the door. "Where did they go?" Alecto demanded as they thundered past and eventually the sound of their running faded away to silence.

"…Astrid?" I opened my eyes and saw that Neville and I were now in a large room. The walls were mirrored and I instantly recognized it as the Room of Requirement. It was similar to how I remembered it during our fifth year; the only difference now was that it looked like we could live here. The large fireplace was lit, casting a warm glow through the room. In one corner there was a large sunken bath, similar to the Prefects' bath, and looked like it could comfortably fit at least ten people. In the same area as the bath, was a door that I assumed led off to a toilet. Close to the fireplace was a comfortable looking four poster canopy bed, furnished with deep red sheets and a golden duvet. We both looked at each other in awe before jogging over to the other side of the room. I immediately went for the bath and began filling it up with warm water from the tap. Sitting next to the bath was a small collection of bath gels, shampoo and conditioner. I took some of the bath gel and began pouring it into the warm water, smiling when I realized it was coconut scented. Coconut was my favorite. I stood back and watched in happiness as the bath filled and bubbles began multiplying. "This is amazing…it's exactly what we needed, and then some." Neville said laughing as he walked up next to me.

"I know; it's so perfect." I smiled up at him before wincing as I felt a sudden pain shoot through my back. "Neville?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you look at my back for me?" I asked him. He nodded his head slowly and I shrugged of my robes before grimacing as I peeled off my jumper. I looked up at Neville and saw he was blushing and had averted his eyes to stare at the floor. "It's okay Neville, I'm not naked."

"I know, but…it's still…" I took his face lightly in my hands and made him look me in the eyes.

"Neville, it's fine, okay?"

"O-…okay." Neville managed to mumble out. I turned around and heard Neville gasp loudly.

"Oh god, Astrid…" He whispered. "They're all over your back…and blood is…is everywhere."

"I know Nev; I can feel every damned one." I gritted my teeth and hissed in pain as he began to inspect them.

"Hang on," Neville went over to the bath and picked up a washcloth that was next to a few folded towels. He dipped the washcloth in the warm water and squeezed it a little before making his was back over to me. "Take off your bra. Ah, I uh…didn't mean it like that…I won't look, I swear!" I laughed at Neville's chivalry before reaching behind my back, unclasping the hook on my bra and letting the newly stained and ruined garment fall to the floor. Neville slowly began wiping off the blood that had caked itself all across my back. He was trying his best to steer clear of the large, painful gashes but every now and then he would accident bump one, causing me to let out a hiss in pain and made him apologize repeatedly. "_Vulnera Sanentur._" I heard Neville cast the healing spell; I could feel, with a bit of discomfort, my skin sealing itself back together slowly. "There, all finished…unfortunately the curse she used made it where a healing spell won't completely heal them, but they don't look as bad. You will have some scarring though."

"Thanks Neville." I turned around to face him…big mistake. I had somehow forgotten that I was completely topless and poor Neville turned a bright shade of scarlet once I had turned to face him…however he couldn't seem to remove his gaze from my chest. I probably should have been more embarrassed, but the expression on Neville's face was too hilarious for me to be nervous at all…I do believe this was the first time Neville Longbottom had ever laid eyes on a pair of breasts. His eyes were the widest I had ever seen, but once I cleared my throat to gain his attention, they immediately shut, his whole face scrunching up in the process. I laughed at him quietly before reaching up and placing one hand on his cheek, the other I tangled in his hair. I bit my bottom lip, contemplating whether or not I should do what I'd wanted to for so long now.

"Astrid…" Neville whispered, still keeping his eyes shut. I got up on my tippy toes and pressed my lips against his, kissing him for the first time in months. Just as I was about to pull back, I gasped lightly as I heard Neville drop his wand to the ground and felt him wrap both of this arms around me, hoisting me up towards him. I moved both of my arms to circle his neck and jumped up a little, wrapping my legs around his waist. I opened my mouth a bit and ran my tongue against his bottom lip, begging for entrance. Neville opened his mouth a little and our tongues went wild together, doing a frantic tango before we both had to pull back and gasp for air. Neville next went to a soft spot on my neck and began suckling and nipping at it; I leaned my head back and moaned out, causing him to suck even harder.

"Neville…oh, Merlin!" I gasped out as he bit a little harder before licking the spot and pulling back to look me in the eyes. I leaned my head down and kissed him on the lips again which caused him to tighten his arms around me, digging into my back on accident. "Ouch!" Neville instantly pulled back and set me onto the ground again.

"I'm so sorry Astrid! Did I hurt you too much?" He asked hurriedly.

"I'm fine Neville, I promise." I smiled up at him before pecking him on the tip of his nose. I looked at the water once again; it seemed to be calling my name, begging me to hop in. I reached down and slipped off my socks and shoes before pulling off my skirt and panties.

"Merlin Astrid, aren't we moving a little fast?" Neville had covered his eyes once he saw me taking off all my clothes.

"Relax Nev; I'm not going to shag you senseless yet…" I laughed at the blushing Neville. "I'm just getting into the bath." He nodded but didn't remove his hand from covering his eyes until he knew I was in the bath, fully covered by bubbles. The water felt absolutely amazing and I dunked myself under before wading over to the side where I sat on a little ledge that was made into the five foot deep bath. "Neville…it's kind of weird for you to just be standing there watching me, you know? Why don't you join me?" I suggested.

"Your right, the water looks really nice." Neville replied before standing up and shyly shedding his robes, button down shirt and slacks. He stood there in only his plaid boxers, looking down shyly…I couldn't help but chuckle at his nervousness.

"I'll shut my eyes." I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands to insure Neville that I wouldn't peak. I heard a bit of noise as I assumed he shed his boxers and then felt the water shift as he quickly made his way into the water. I opened my eyes and saw that he was all the way on the other side of the bath, as far away from me as possible. I shook my head at him and made my way over to him, perching myself right next to him on the underwater bench. We just sat there, not touching or looking at each other…just staring ahead at the bubbles that floated around for what felt like an eternity but what was in reality about ten minutes or so.

"I love you Astrid." Neville whispered to me; I looked over at him and saw he was gazing down at me. "I love you more than I ever thought possible…you mean everything to me, Astrid. I'm sorry about Hannah and about not writing back…I'm sorry for hurting you like that." Neville reached over to me and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around my middle and placing my legs across his lap. Even though we were naked as the day we were born, it wasn't awkward at all; it was actually quite possibly the most natural thing I've ever done with Neville... besides loving him, of course. He leaned down and kissed me softly, I then laid my head on his shoulder and he rested his head on top on my own.

"I love you too Neville." I whispered back at him, shutting my eyes in content.


End file.
